Carved by the Gods
by JessieeRebecca
Summary: In a mystical world where monsters, magic, and the Gods reign supreme, one girl gets cursed. And a young man is forced to hunt her down. There are no good guys in this world, but they'll try to forge a new one. Where love will prevail, and the greed of Gods and kings will be destroyed.
1. Prologue

Long ago before man walked the Earth, titans ran rampant. It wasn't long before the Gods destroyed them and began their reign over the land, creating mountains, streams, rivers, meadows, beautiful lands but with no one to enjoy or replenish them once they had died and turned to sand. So the king of the Gods, Marcus, created beings that would care for their world, he molded them together in pairs using clay, and brought them to life with magic. Each person he made had a partner, someone to trust, someone to love, someone to care for. He would keep them separate on his ever growing wall, until one day the Goddess of wisdom and strategy, Lexa, grew jealous of one of the figurines, for his partner was one of the fairest in the bunch. So she stole her, and hid her away from her partner. Things would only get worse as she would go on to start feuds and eventually a war with one of the other Goddesses, Luna, who controlled the ocean and all other forms of water. Luna felt she should be the patron Goddess of Athens and bestowed them a fountain that would bring fresh water that would never stop flowing so long as she lived, while Lexa gifted them olive trees that would provide food, trade, and crafting material. The people chose Lexa and since then, the two began to argue. Oceans were rough beyond compare, the people argued endlessly and forgot their duties, families were ripped apart, and the world seemed to come to an end. Their struggle, their pettiness would bring ruin to the world. So Marcus put a stop to their childishness, and forced them to create a treaty that would last. They were to never speak to each other unless it was during the Solstice, where they could speak on civil terms. Until then they were forced to go to their homes, Lexa in the clouds where she spent hours in the libraries of Olympus studying and strategising, and Luna beneath the waves, calm and collected, working towards peace with man, and praying for their safety as they travelled her kept the maidens figure close to her, and whispered ideas and thoughts into her head, hoping one day she'd meet her and win her over. However, fate had other plans.

On the mortal Earth, there lived a king, he had the most beautiful maiden in all of the land as his wife. However, he received a prophecy that his own child would one day bring down the kingdom, and destroy his monarchy. The king panicked and locked his wife Aurora in a copper tower with no windows or doors, only a small slit where the sun would let in light occasionally. She grew bitter as she stayed in there alone, and began to pray to the king of the Gods to free her, when he answered her, she showered her in a beautiful golden light that smelled of sunflowers and to her astonishment, hope. Suddenly she noticed a child in her arms, swaddled in pure white fabrics with golden trim.

"Bellamy." She whispered. She held her son close to her heart and thanked the Gods for her gift. Deep in her heart she knew he was destined for something great, his spirit was wild, his passion would be beyond anything anyone would see in a mortal. But he was no mortal, he was a demigod. The king heard him crying one night and ripped the walls down, when he saw Aurora with her son, he was furious, even the God of war couldn't compare to his fury. The mad king forced Aurora and Bellamy into a chest and cast them out to sea where they would float and drift at Luna's mercy. She knew what the chest held, and had the tides carry them to someone would would take care of them, a lone fisherman, brother to a king in another land. He picked the chest up in his net once he saw it. When he opened it and saw the woman holding her child to her chest, whispering prayers and stories of the past, he sympathized with them. He helped them out and took care of them, making sure they were fed, warm, and clothed. It wasn't long until the fisherman and Aurora were married, they were happy together for many years. When Bellamy turned nine, they told him they were expecting a baby, so their family was getting bigger. Bellamy was scared at first, thinking they wouldn't want him anymore because they were having a child of their own, but after assuring him they'd love him still, and his baby brother or sister would love him even more than they did. And they were right. His little sister Octavia was born, and he was struck with how beautiful she was, how fierce her eyes were at only one day old. He could tell she was going to be wild, even more than he. They grew up, giving offerings to Luna, thanking her for delivering them to their father, playing in the ocean, helping their dad fish, and living in their small home on a cliff by the shore. Their childhood was as golden as Bellamy's birth, when he got old enough, he began to apprentice with a swordsman, learning how to fight, to defend himself, he was going to join the army, but his father needed his help still. At least until Aurora could get work in the palace, she was a seamstress before she was a queen, and continued to practice even after she was the fisherman's wife. She made all of their nets and clothes, her embroidery was incredible, she wasn't close to Arachne, but she could hold her own. Her brother in law noticed her work and wanted to hire her, but only after they could pay for their place in the palace. The king didn't want his people to think there was favoritism in his kingdom. Things were going great for the family, Bellamy grew stronger each day, when he was twenty two and his sister was sixteen, they were working on the ship.

"Father, when will we get out of this life? We have more than enough saved to move on to better things." Bellamy said, he wiped the sweat off of his head with a towel. Octavia was helping their mother sew a beautiful garment on the upper half of their ship, she was doing intricate beading.

"Bellamy, we have more than enough. Your mother is happy to be here on this ship that helped rescue you two. We have a beautiful home, food in our stomachs and air in our lungs." He said, they pulled up their net only to find it empty.

"The fish have been coming less and less, have you been burning and leaving offerings to Luna at her temple?" He asked. Bellamy nodded, something in the distance shimmered, a rogue wave probably.

"Octavia's been leaving more for Echo, she wants to join her hunt you know." Bellamy said. His father laughed and smiled, the years of sun had permanently tanned his skin and added more lines to it, his freckles almost matched Bellamy's.

"Bellamy!" Octavia screamed, she pointed to the side of the ship. He looked over and saw what she saw, a giant wave was headed towards them, it was fast and tall and their small boat was no match for it.

"Octavia! Mom!" Bellamy yelled. They looked at him worried, and then rushed down to them, abandoning their work on the deck. His father wrapped his arms around them and said a prayer to Lord Murphy to be forgiving in the underworld, then one to Luna thanking her for bringing his family to him, and king Marcus for creating them. Octavia held onto her brother as tightly as she could, when the wave hit them, she was ripped away. Just like the rest of his family. The current from the sinking ship pulled the family under, and into the lower deck. Bellamy swam as hard as he could to reach a hole in the side of the ship, crates and planks blocked their way out, he could vaguely make out his mother through it, she was holding onto her husband still, Octavia struggled to release her leg from the net it was stuck in, his lungs screamed for air but he persisted, trying to break the wood blocking their exit. It was no use, his family joined hands and looked at him hopeless as the last of their air ran out, he screamed loud enough to be heard throughout the ocean. His mother went first, closing her eyes, the last of her air escaped her mouth in small bubbles, his father shortly after, Octavia fought and fought to get free but it was no use. Her energy was spent and she had given up shortly after, she looked into her brothers eyes as if to demand him to witness and avenge her. To make Luna pay for what she had just done to one of the most devoted families there was. Her eyes drifted shut finally and she stopped moving. The ship continued to sink to the dark, unforgiving depths, abandoning Bellamy in the endless blue sea.


	2. The Curse

The temple was cold when I walked inside the main corridor, my pristine, white chiton was fairly thin, so I pulled my chlamys closer to me. It was time to go and study medicine and logic with some of the other handmaidens for Lexa, we always did during the afternoon after our worship. My braid was coming loose even though I had just pulled it together in the small room in the temple I shared with a few of the girls here. Of course we didn't want to live here, no one did, but Lexa filled some void in our lives that we couldn't figure out. The teachers here gave us shelter, food, and a place to learn, all at her expense. Her love for us was nice, but it didn't stop us from wondering what could be. It didn't stop me...one of the men in town had taken a liking to me, everyone around noticed it and regarded it with unease, but I hadn't spoken to anyone about it. We weren't allowed to fraternize in the temple, but we tended to ignore the rules like that. Especially my friend Glass, she had a thing with one of the men in town. It was improper, and usually I was a sucker for rules, but I had never been so happy, and I'd also never seen my friend so happy. Today we were learning about medicinal herbs, it was fascinating actually, it made me want to start my own garden here, but everything was always so planned out. So perfect, it was hard to manage free time let alone gardening. Besides that, everything was stone, everything. Marble pillars, floors, columns, everything was just cold and unfeeling. The lesson flew by swiftly, and we were dismissed shortly after going through everything, logic was held off today as the professor forgot to bring her chess set. I began heading to my room to relax and study some of the plants we learned about further.

"Clarke!" Someone whispered. I stopped and looked around at the white and gold landscape. No one appeared to be there.

"Psst!" Someone hissed. I turned my head again and saw dark brown locks poking around a pillar, it was close to the dormitories so I knew exactly who it was. I headed over to meet the man quickly, giggling a little too loud for my comfort when he grabbed me by the waist and pulled me close. His lips met mine briefly, when he pulled back he gave me a big smile.

"Finn, this isn't allowed." I whispered, my smile betrayed me. He kissed my neck, I leaned my head back enjoying it. For some reason whenever he was around it was if I was on cloud nine, like his presence alone filled me with such joy and love. I almost felt fuzzy when I was near him, light headed and lovesick.

"I couldn't stay away." He mumbled. We continued kissing, his hands roamed up and down my sides, cupping my face and then finding their way back down. I sighed contently, savoring each sensation, but a sense of dread washed over me suddenly. I hadn't told him where I lived and studied. He shouldn't have known that I was in Lexa's temple.

"Finn...how did you find me here?" I asked, pushing him off. Finn looked hurt for a second, then brushed it off slightly.

"A friend told me you'd be here." He said. A friend? I didn't know which friend of his that I'd know, something wasn't right here. The feeling went away as another wave of fuzziness hit me, my heart started to soar and everything felt so amazing. I tried to shake it off but something kept pulling me back to that euphoric feeling.

"What friend?" I mumbled, wrapping my arms around Finn's neck. He nuzzled me and held me close.

"You don't need to worry about it, come here." He whispered pulling me towards the rooms. I followed him towards the room, practically floating. The smell of roses and lavender filled the air as I fell in step behind him. We fell into my room, I knew Glass was sneaking out to be with her gentleman through the front gate, so I'd have the room for hours. We continued while laying on my bed until finally the spell he had me under wore off. The glow on his skin gave it away, the smell of flowers, how I always felt drowsy or euphoric whenever I was near him. The way he could easily seduce me when I was not one to give in so easily.

"You're the God of love." I shouted, pushing him off of me again. Nothing had gone further other than kissing so I was still safe, but not from his wife's rath. Raven was the Goddess of the forge, she could smite me down or send her mechanical army after me to kill me. He looked bashful and nodded.

"I am. But Clarke, you're unlike any mortal I've ever met. I want to be with you. Only you." He said. I stood up and began to pace going over who would have sent him here.

"Who sent you here?" I demanded. His eyes darkened as he realized he wouldn't get away with his betrayal to Raven, and to me. The air between us was charged, with disdain, remorse, everything but the feelings we were just sharing.

"Luna told me where you'd be." He said finally. My heart dropped as I realized what this was, anyone who was anyone knew the history between the two Goddesses. I was bait for revenge, somehow Luna figured this relationship out and used it to her advantage. My head began to pound as the consequences poured throughout my mind, each one worse than the next.

"I'm going to die. I'm going to die. Do you realize what you've done?" I shouted, I knew this argument was going to raise attention, it was getting louder and louder.

"You should have figured out who I was from day one!" He retorted.

"I thought I was in love! But you...you used me!" I couldn't hold back anymore, I wound my hand back and slapped him across his face. His head was lowered, and he raised a hand to where I'd hit him, but when he looked up, his eyes went wide. My stomach dropped. I turned to look at who was there, it was her. The Goddess herself.

"What is going on here?" She said calmly. I pointed at Finn but struggled to find the words to help prove my innocence, I found them but bit them back because this alone, fraternizing, having a boy in the dorm, it was against the temple's rules. Her rules. Lexa's green eyes were blazing with hatred.

"I assure you this will get dealt with Clarke." She said. Tears began to stream down my face.

"I didn't know who he was. He lied to me, he withheld the truth." I cried, I got on my knees and begged her for her forgiveness. I knew though that I should be begging for Raven's. I sobbed harder and harder with each form of torture that passed through my head. I would forever be shamed by fellow mortals, and the Gods. I'd be condemned to be in the Fields of Mourning, or even worse, Tartarus for the rest of my dead life. When I looked up, Lexa and Finn were gone. I began to cry softly, hopeless and alone, Glass wouldn't be back for hours as she visited her gentleman for long periods of time. Praying couldn't possibly save me, so instead I decided to send out an apology to the Goddess Raven, my favorite book lay on the table in the room, so I grabbed it and headed to the fire on the other side of the temple.

"Raven, please show mercy. I didn't know I swear. I would never do anything to harm you or any God or Goddess. I'm so deeply sorry. I offer you my most prized possession in hopes you'll accept this apology." I whispered. Then I fell to my knees as I pushed the book into the flames and watched it burn. My heart thudded hard against my ribs as I looked at the embers fly high into the air and disappear. She was receiving it, oh Gods I hope she would see it wasn't intentional. That I was tricked. Bewitched.

"Are you Clarke?" A voice asked from within the flames. I jumped back startled. A small face peered out, he was clearly a God but not of anything like the ones we regularly sacrificed and worshipped. He was a minor God, but it felt as if he was of importance still. His eyes were dark brown, his skin matched the dancing flames, red, gold, and orange, but his hair was a shock of darkness, and shaggy.

"I...I am. Who are you?" I asked, peering closer, the heat from the fire kissed my cheeks.

"I'm Monty, God of light. I have an important message from you directly from the cupbearer to the Gods, Harper." He whispered urgently.

"What is it?" I asked fearfully. His face contorted into confusion.

"Why do you sound so scared?" He asked.

"Because the God of love tricked me. And...and Lexa caught us." I sobbed. The fire blasted upwards, he was frustrated.

"You mean she caught you with him!? Oh Heavens I'm too late!" He cried.

"What do you mean too late?" I demanded. The flames danced back and forth, like the poor man was pacing wherever he was.

"I came here to warn you about Finn. Luna is trying to start a war with Lexa. She said she'd wronged someone and they had to pay. I only know the Luna figured out who Finn was courting, and she sent him here." Monty said. More tears fell down my face, I was just a pawn to start a war, they didn't care that I had devoted my life to serving them, studying under their influence. They just wanted someone to blame. A shimmering, circular thing fell into my lap.

"Eat this, you'll be able to see the courts discussion on what to do with you. Don't tell anyone I gave this to you." He warned. Then he was gone. My last hope was gone. I slowly walked back to my room, placing the sphere on my tongue and biting, it tasted like honey. Then I sat on my cot and cried until I fell into a deep, troubling sleep.

I could see the throne room of Olympus, golds and white marble like the temple of Lexa, except grander. It's mere image sent waves of power, vitality, everything there buzzed with magic. The twelve thrones sat across from one another, so they could all face each other. One decorated differently than the other. Grape vines and leaves on the purple throne, where a tall gangly man sat and laughed heartily, next to him was a throne that donned beautiful pinks and reds, roses with thorns covered the sides. Finn's throne. I turned my head to a simple bronze and green throne, there a beautiful woman with caramel skin and long black hair up in a complicated braid sat, the slit in her emerald green chiton revealed a mechanical leg, looping and turning with glittering bronze gears and springs. It was Raven. My heart felt heavier with each God and Goddess I looked at. The blinding gold of Roan, the messenger, the calm blues and purples of Echo's throne, The anger inducing throne of Indra. And the kings throne. A perfect blinding white and silver throne, simple but it demanded your respect. It screamed authority. As did he. He was broad with dark eyes, chocolate hair that fell at his chin, and a beard that made him look more human than immortal. I gasped at the sight. Lexa appeared dressed in reds and golds, she radiates wisdom, I longed to be at her feet, so I could beg for her forgiveness, I shouldn't have disobeyed the rules. I shouldn't have betrayed her. Marcus cleared his throat, tensions were running high in the room, even from where I sat, next to the hearth, next to the God who kept it, Lincoln, I could feel the hostility coming from him.

"Finn, did you court the mortal Lexa has informed us of in her temple?" He demanded, his voice was steady but full of malice. Finn sat up straight, glancing at his wife who looked away before answering.

"I did."

"Why in my temple?" Lexa demanded.

"Luna told me where she would be resting." He said. Luna scoffed at this idea even though I knew it was true.

"I did no such thing you liar." She snapped. Raven looked into her lap and sighed.

"How many other women have you slept with all over? How many more times will you hurt your wife? How many more excuses will you make?" Luna asked. Though it wasn't a question, it was a warning.

"We must punish the girl." She continued. I wanted to scream, Lincoln stiffened his back.

"No." Raven said. Every head turned to her, she folded her hands in her lap and sat up straight, commanding the room.

"We must punish those responsible. It is to my knowledge that the girl was unaware of Finn's status as a God."

"She was in my temple. There were rules in place against fraternization." Lexa countered. Raven held a hand up to silence her.

"It is also to my knowledge that Finn uses his power of persuasion against mortal women to seduce them. It's only fair to leave the girl alone. He fooled her, he's responsible." She finished. Then she picked up the book at her feet, my offering.

"The mortal has apologized. Her heart is true. I don't want her punished." Lincoln turned his head towards me and smiled as if he could see me there. I felt hope bubbling in my soul, maybe I wouldn't be punished.

"She still broke a sacred rule I hold everyone in there accountable for. And if what you say is true, that Finn took advantage of her, then who's to say no one else will?" Lexa asked. All of them turned their heads toward each other and began to mumble.

"I have to make sure this girl is never hurt again by man or God. It's my duty to my handmaidens." She boasted. I could see Luna rolling her eyes from her sapphire throne, decorated with shells, coral, and pearls. Her navy chiton rustled as she leaned forward.

"What could you possibly do to assure that?" She demanded.

"If no man or immortal will leave her alone for her beauty, I must make her into a monster." Lexa stated. At that moment, my heart turned cold, it felt like it'd stop beating, I had done nothing, the Gods agreed with Raven, they'd said not to punish me. But yet here she was out of spite, it felt like my heart had been ripped out, turned into a stone, and placed back in my chest cavity. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't breathe. I gasped for air and looked at Lincoln who looked horrified at what he'd just heard, he turned towards me and whispered to wake up. Run. As if running could help, they could find me wherever I was. They were the Gods.

"All in favor?" She asked. No one said anything.

"Lexa you can't. She didn't do anything." Raven pushed.

"I have to protect her." Lexa said.

"Protect her my ass. You're just upset you couldn't court her yourself." Lord Murphy said. He was defending me?

"Say what you will but I have a duty to my followers."

"Lexa...I strongly advise you to reconsider this. If you truly loved the girl, would you honestly turn her into a monster? Just to protect your ego?" Marcus asked sternly. He was on my side, the king of the Gods was on my side! He shook his head in disappointment as she broadened her shoulders, unwilling to change her mind.

"Blood must have blood."

And with that I jerked awake in my bed, I couldn't feel my heart anymore. Was I dead? I couldn't be because I had to go through judgement. I would've met with Charon and crossed the river on his ferry. I would've seen the dead and broken dreams floating by, all of the trapped and condemned souls. But here I sat in my room, struggling to catch my breath.

"Clarke Griffin, you're being punished for breaking the sacred rule of the temple. You must be punished as so." Lexa said appearing in my room. My stomach churned, bile rose into my throat, burning it, I knew what was coming to me.

"Please, I didn't mean it I just...he-"

"Clarke. I know the circumstances. I must protect you but there also must be a punishment for violating the temple's trust, and more importantly mine." She said calmly. I couldn't believe my ears. Even after the Gods had said no don't punish her, she was going through with it. She waved a hand in the air and a sudden gust of cold air hit me, I felt as if my hair was being ripped out of my scalp and replaced with something harder, it stung and hurt so badly I began to cry again. Something was changing about me, I could feel my skin tingle, it began to glow brightly as I morphed into whatever she was turning me into. The room was silent once she had finished, hissing slowly filled it.

"Now no one can hurt you. No one can look at you." She said darkly. I felt my head and felt squirming, disgusting scales. One of the snakes nipped at my hand but then realized I was their owner, I controlled them now. I screamed until my throat felt bloody and raw. Lexa disappeared. The hollowness I felt...the complete anger and resentment. Betrayed by the Goddess I had devoted my life to, someone I had worshipped and given thanks to, had it not been for her my mother and I would have died. She had been sick with something the doctor couldn't determine, so I prayed to her, I prayed that she would bestow me the wisdom I needed in medicine to help my mom. So I could find out what was wrong and get her something to make it better. I was only seven but I was starving, and needed something to work. Something had to be done, I had to get help but no one would even look at us. My father had aided one of the Goddesses daughters in escaping Olympus, she had wanted to abstain from her immortality, and join the human world. She'd wanted to be a high priestess, and then eventually the Oracle of Delphi. But her mother would not allow it, Indra was furious that her child had run away and convinced Marcus to punish my father. He now took over for a titan in holding the sky up since Marcus felt my father already held the world on his shoulders. Gaia had disappeared, no one knew where she went after the incident. But it made everyone shun my family, however Lexa took pity on us and came to our home. She cured my mother, and in return I would leave our home in Arkadia, and go to her place of worship in Athens where I would study medicine. And honor the Goddess who saved us. I had honored her, given her the best years of my life, and the biggest cuts of my food, I had given her everything to give thanks for her gift to my mother, but now...now that was gone. She was cursing me for being tricked by Finn, by a fellow God and for what? For her ego? Because I refused her when she tried to win me over? My mind searched for answers that I knew I could never have. My chest felt heavy again as I laid my head on my pillow, it must've been close to when Glass would be back and who knew what she would say about my new...hair. If you could call it that. We didn't have mirrors in the dorms so I could only wait for Glass to come back and tell me exactly what I looked like, the hissing was starting to get to my head, oh wait...it was on my head.

"Hush now." I snapped. The hissing stopped. The candle had blown out when Lexa left, so I sat in the darkness trying to run excuses over and over, trying to figure out what I would tell everyone would happen. It started to get cold in the room, so I pulled my blanket over my head and tried to sleep. No position was comfortable enough for me, I kept tossing and turning, my head felt heavier than it ever had. I couldn't even get warm. The door opened suddenly and I bolted upright and stared at the doorway, figuring out who was there.

"Glass?" I asked excitedly.

"Clar-" She got cut off. A crackling noise pierced the air, it sounded like the mountains after the Earth shakes, and then as if someone was moving a statue. Like rock moving on the ground.

"Glass?" I asked again. I got out of bed and lit the candle and screamed. My best friend and confidant, was turned to stone.


	3. The Deal

I could see her face, her eyes held so much fear in them. It was the first time my sister had been afraid in so long, and now she was dead. Her life is just done. She's gone forever. I could hear the sound of my heart shattering as the wreck sunk below me. Luna had murdered my family in cold blood. I wanted to wring her neck, to make her suffer as I have suffered. We were loyal to her, we gave her our best fish, any treasure we found, we put onto her altar. And she had spat on us. My lungs screamed for air but my heart told me to give up, to stop trying to swim to the wreck to save my family, to not swim to the surface to save myself, our possessions that had escaped the boat began to float upward. Dodging them was hard to do but I tried, something in me told me to try for them. For her. Pain radiated from the back of my head and the navy sea turned black.

 _Stay strong my son. Your time is coming, you will be destined for great things._

The voice had haunted my dreams for years, it wasn't my own, and it wasn't my conscience. It was something mystical, something even my mother couldn't explain. I felt hollow inside when I thought of her. They were all so innocent, they'd done nothing to warrant such wrath. Maybe I did when I was training, I had been more than rough with a few of the men for making eyes at my sister. Did that constitute killing them? I no longer felt like I was floating, perhaps I was finally in the underworld, I'd see Charon soon enough, I'd be sent to the Fields of Asphodel where I'd wander forever, wondering where everyone was. Octavia would choose reincarnation so we could see one another again. Mother and father would choose Elysium so they could spend the rest of their undead lives in heaven. What would Murphy be like? I've heard from many stories from all over that he was cold, sarcastic, unforgiving, and only caring when it came to his wife Emori. She passed more of the judgements than he did, perhaps she'd forgive me? I rolled over on a cold stone floor, it smelled like mildew, I could hear water dripping and chains shifting. I was in the underworld. I groaned as I sat up, my head throbbed. I faced a dark wall, the stonework was extraordinary, there were three small bars letting in the dim, orange light from outside.

"Here. Take this." A voice whispered. Something was pushed towards me at the other side of the room. Slowly, I turned around with my head down, I rubbed it lightly and noticed a plate of food on the ground. When I looked up a girl with light skin, dark eyes, and curly light brown hair. She was dressed in a dark pink and grey dress, a small crown rested in her hair. I looked at the plate and then up again.

"What are you?" I croaked. The girl quickly put her finger to her lips and shushed me. The sound pierced my ears and made my head hurt even more.

"I'm Gina. Princess of Mount Weather. You're in our dungeon." She whispered.

"What's that?"

"You washed up on our beaches, we don't know if you're a spy or not."  
"I was a fisherman. My boat sank." I choked out. The scene flashed through my mind, their faces so scared, but then at peace.

"The Goddess of the sea sent that towards us. She's mad at my parents."

"Why?" The food on the plate looked so good, lush, purple grapes, roasted meat, vegetables, and a flaky pastry. My stomach growled loudly, Gina smiled and encouraged me to eat by pushing the plate closer.

"There will be guards here in an hour. Once they're here they'll take you to the bath house and sanitize you. They won't be gentle, and it will be extremely painful. Don't fight them it'll just make it harder for my people to trust you." Gina said quickly. I took it all in and slowly nodded. I took a bite of the pastry and groaned, it was delicious. She smiled at me and blushed, I took a bite of the meat next and noticed how pretty she was. By far one of the prettiest girls I had seen, she wore none of that white chalk that most royals wore, her skin held no blemish, her eyebrows weren't connected like in my old kingdom where that was a trend. Octavia would laugh at those girls, she would rather use the black paint to put over her eyes and hunt in the woods. She'd never do that again.

"Your family killed my family." I mumbled. The princess looked confused.

"How do you mean?"

"My boat sank from that wave, my whole family died." I whispered. Gina's head drifted to the ground, she let out a slow sigh, as if she were ashamed, or disappointed. Then she raised her head and looked him in the eye.

"I'm so sorry for your loss." She said. I finished my plate even though my stomach churned just thinking about what kind of parents she had, and how their disrespect caused the deaths of three innocent people. Not just anyone. My family.

"I will get my revenge." I said darkly.

"I hope you would spare me. I have no desire to be associated with my selfish parents. Their hunger for wealth and such, it disgusts me. I wanted to join the temple of Raven and study her ways. I don't want to be trapped here forever." She whispered. She was stuck here, held captive in her own home. Like she was a prisoner in one of these cells. Her eyes drifted to the door as she took note of my silence. Slowly she reached for the empty plate and stood up.

"I will spare you. So long as you run off before I see your parents." I said. Gina looked scared but she nodded and rushed out the door, leaving me in the stagnant room, ruminating on my escape plan. Somehow I felt like I wouldn't be able to be free after this even if they let me back into the world. I'd be trapped in my own head, remembering their deaths everyday. Their faces would haunt me, I couldn't be free until I was with them again. I didn't cry, warriors never cried, but my throat constricted, I clenched my jaw until I felt as if my teeth would break from the force. Time passed, the sun got lower, the light in the cell grew dimmer. That's when the guards came in, shouting for me to stay down. I did as I was told, they hit my back with a cane and barked at me to stand up. I did. Then they clamped chains on me and ushered me out of my cell and to the dungeon door. There were many other men laying on their sides, withering away to nothing. Their faces were gaunt and their cries reverberated all around the dungeon as they saw me being forced out. My back was straight, I puffed my chest out, to make me look stronger than I was. My chiton was still wet, it stuck to me and irritated my skin as I walked, my sandals no longer bothered my calloused feet but they did rub me the wrong way. The guards held my arms and chains tightly as they waited for further instruction.

"Hod op." One of the guards said. He turned around and glared at me, his blue eyes were full of hatred and anger.

"Nou sen yu fut daun nowe." He spat before turning around to whisper to the man behind the door. They were speaking a different language. One I'd never heard before, my father had said there were places that spoke a strange tongue, one that was reserved for savages. This must be it, but they seemed to be civilized to an extent. Not like the woods people we had encountered years ago, even then they accepted our trade, and began to teach Octavia the ways of the Hunt. They'd all been apart of Echo's Hunt, all had fallen during battle or given up due to age, but they were amazing people. They gave my sister more purpose than beading and fishing. Sure she could hold her breath for what seemed like hours, ut what good would that have done her if she couldn't fight? My heart thudded harder as I remembered how long she could hold her breath, it wasn't enough to save her. To spare her time to get her free from the sinking boat. I adjusted my arms to be more comfortable in my restraints. They rattled loudly.

"Teik emo hod op!" Their head guard snapped. The men held me tighter, I rolled my eyes.

"Hod op." The head guard said. I stared him in the eye, meeting his gaze with the same amount of animosity as he held, until the back of his hand struck me across the face. I didn't fall, but I did stumble. The door opened and I was pushed forwards, we traveled in the dark passageway, I listened to their strange chatter while we headed towards the unknown. I could hear water roaring in the distance as we continued down the hall, we reached some stairs and climbed them, the guards still holding tight to my arms. Torches began to light our way until we reached a wooden door.

"Hod op'ya. Gon wo." The leader said. They shoved me against the wall, the stone was cold against my cheek, their feet shuffled as they moved around behind me.

"Dou-de au." He commanded. The door opened, the water roared loudly, then stopped suddenly, steam drifted outside and hit me. That water could burn ones skin, and I knew this was going to be painful. I could hear women's voices drifting in the background.

"Yu gon woda klin laudnes-se kom." The guard holding my right arm mumbled.

"What are you saying?" I asked. I didn't get a response, they pulled me from the wall and shoved me through the door, where a pool made of marble and lined in gold lay, steaming. The ladies in there held cloth, brushes, and bottles of liquids that could hold oils to clean me off. They wore himations and veils over their heads to hide their hair and faces. Usually that would mean shame or emotion, but this was most likely out of tradition, or they were slaves.

"Kep yo woda in." One of the ladies said softly. The guards let go of me but hooked the chains keeping my wrists prisoner to the wall. They tightened them, so the cuffs bit my wrists, then they left. The women inside the room untied the chiton I wore, they almost seemed embarrassed, one of the women touched my hand and led me into the water, it stung at first. Then it got hotter and hotter, burning my skin until it turned pink. The women scrubbed my skin, the oils only worsened the pain, but I wouldn't scream. Gina had warned me about struggling, so I stayed still granted it felt like my flesh was burning off.

"En's ku. En's ku." One of them whispered lightly. I shut my eyes tightly as they scrubbed my skin raw. I tried to focus on the smell of the oils, they smelled of bay laurel and lavender, my mother always liked using lavender oils when we were younger, she always smelled of it, regardless. She would tell me it was never a good thing to smell foul, to always bathe every other day if possible. If we couldn't, she would rub saffron oil in our hair, or peppermint if we could afford it. Octavia had always preferred the scent of thyme or saffron to the mint. I personally chose mint over anything else, it was the one thing we would argue over. Thinking of them helped take my mind off of the immense pain being inflicted on me, I wanted to laugh just thinking of one night when she was a toddler, she pushed a whole bottle of peppermint oil on herself, she was trying to get a fig down from the kitchen table, so she pulled on the cloth my mom draped over it to keep it clean. She pulled on it, the bottle tipped over and spilled over her head, she hated the stuff ever since. Called it the trickster, since she thought she was getting a treat instead. The brushes cut into my skin, they finished with epsom salt which made my skin tingle. When they were done, they helped me stand up, new clothes lay on a chair nearby, pristine white robes, perizoma, and a kolpos. The women ushered me closer.

"Step op en. Brana bakkova gon honon." They giggled as they dressed me, no longer embarrassed. They helped me into the clothes, and fastened the kolpos snugly before stepping away and turning their backs to me.

"Ogeda odon. Ba em ste os." The girl who scrubbed with the brush said. The guards came flooding back in and loosened my restraints from the wall.

"Diz'ei" The guard said tugging on the chain. I took it as 'come on' and began to walk. The guards were whispering amongst themselves in their language. Something about it didn't sit well with me. We continued up the stairs to what I could only assume was the ground level of the palace I was being held in. A servant walked towards us and stopped the guard.

"Teik em gon osir haihefa." They said, and then they were gone. Walking off as quickly as they had come to us. The guards moved me down some more of the grand halls. Rich fabrics draped over the windows, they had dark wooden floors that reflected the light off the torches, polished wood was a novelty my family couldn't afford, it was always cold stone floors, this floor held red rugs. People were exiting doors and heading towards the end of the hall like us. Draperies hid the room that stood before us, embroidered, but not as nice as my mother and sister could have done. The cloth pulled back and revealed an enormous throne room, reds and gold glittered, a long thin pool of water that looked turquoise, the marble pillars even gleamed with gold streaming inside of the cracks. There was a man with dark, slicked back hair, his dark eyes glared at me, he wore a red peplos with a gold circlet with a green jewel in the center holding it together, his queen sat by his side, dressed in the finest, red gown I had ever seen, her hair was in multiple braids, and piled onto her head, woven in was a golden kotinos signifying her triumph and strength. They screamed power and control, the guests in the room wore reds and whites with golden accents. Wealth and stature is what mattered in this kingdom. They stopped drinking their wine and eating their food when we stepped onto the glittering floor. All heads turned towards me.

"Ai don lid yu hondon in." The head guard said, pushing me forward.

"Chon yu bilaik?" The king asked, he rested his head in his hand looking uninterested. I gave him a blank stare not understanding him. I knew it was a question or demand but I couldn't respond. The crowd began to murmur amongst themselves, wondering why I could not respond no doubt.

"Chit yu goda chich Trigedasleng? O no?" The king snapped. I squared my shoulders and said nothing. He mentioned something that sounded vaguely like a language. Trigedasleng.

"I do not speak your language." I said finally. My voice echoed off of the grand walls, my response made the king smile mercilessly. He waved over a small, pale girl, with dark eyes and wild black curls.

"Yu chich op kom em." He said rolling his eyes.

"Sha, haihefa." The girl squeaked. She turned towards me and took a deep breath.

"My name is Maya, I will be translating for you." She said softly.

"Chich op!" He roared.

"Moba, ai haihefa." She said louder, he gave her a sickening grin as if he took pleasure in scaring her. It disgusted me.

"What is your name?" She asked loud and clear.

"Bellamy Blake. Where am I?" I responded. She closed her eyes and smiled.

"Dison Belomi Bleik. Belomi gaf gon weron du laik." She said, she turned to look at her king waiting for a response. The king seemed so bored of this already, I knew I was growing impatient in my shackles.

"Tel em du laik Maun-de." The king said.

"You're in Mount Weather. Our kingdom." Maya said. She shifted on her feet ever so slightly, her chiton was a pink, like Gina's dress had been. I was assuming she was her attendant. Gina wasn't present, perhaps she had escaped like I had warned her. If her family was to blame for my family's death, I was going to avenge them the best I could. And then sacrifice them to Luna to make amends.

"My name is Cage. You may call me your highness." He said lazily.

"Oh honey, don't be so pompous." His wife cackled. Her beautiful face turned sour once she realized no one was laughing, when she shot the crowd a glare, they did so nervously. Cage stood up and began to pace around the room, twiliring a small dagger in his hands.

"You speak english?" I asked incredulously.

"I do believe my daughter visited you while you were in your cell did she not?" He said ignoring my revelation. I didn't respond. Maya began to wring her hands.

"Did she?" He demanded. He stopped in front of me, he tucked his blade under my chin and forced my head up. His eyes held no sympathy, they had no remorse. He'd seen his demons, he'd slain them all and yet, he felt the need to torture me. To think he was going to break me more than I already was. I stared him down and said nothing, it seemed to piss him off sufficiently. He pressed his knife closer to my skin, almost drawing blood.

"I asked you a question." He growled.

"No. No one saw me in my cell." I replied. My voice dripped with disdain. Cage's face contorted with anger, he removed his knife and for a moment I thought everything was fine, until he backhanded me. The queen stood up and moved towards us with all of the poise and grace as the queen of the Gods, Diana. She whispered to one of the guards who nodded and then quickly left the room. She crossed the room and sighed loudly.

"Ha osir na wich yu in?" She said finally. Her gaze met mine and it was even more fierce than her husbands.

"She's asking why we should believe you." Maya whispered in his ear. Cage snapped his head towards her, she squeaked and moved back.

"Why would I lie to you?" I blatantly lied. The two looked at each other and then back at me.

"Lok ai op mou sawajus." She snapped at one of the servants. They quickly ran to a table and grabbed her a golden goblet filled with wine. She twirled it around for a minute, sniffed it, then took a sip, only to throw it back at the servant.

"Because. Your our prisoner." Cage said. He laughed as the guards came in with Gina in their arms, her hair was messed up and her dress was torn, her face was bruising, a small cut existed above her brow. They threw her on the floor, she whimpered as she tried to sit up again. But the guard grabbed her by the hair and jerked her upwards.

"What did you do to her!?" I screamed, struggling in my shackles. The queen cackled again, only this time it felt more sinister. Who could do this to their own child. She sauntered over to Gina who now had tears flowing down her cheeks.

"Isn't my step-daughter beautiful?" The queen said. So she could speak english as well! She stroked Gina's cheek lightly, and then patted her head. Gina looked terrified.

"Her beauty surpasses all mortal women, and even so, she could rival the Goddess of the seas beauty. Her nereids, mermaids, even Luna herself could not compare to this child." She sneered. I realized what they were doing, they were trying to bait me into agreeing so Luna could hate me too. She was trying to turn the Gods against me so I could live in as much fear as their people did. How many more came before me? How many still stayed in this room. Afraid they would be smitten down when they took a step outside the palace walls. How many?

"I won't fall for your tricks. I know all about your rivalry with the Goddess and I won't have any part of it." I snarled.  
"Oh so you did speak to Gina." Cage said. Then he threw his dagger and hit her in the chest. She screamed in pain as the knife buried itself in her heart. Her blood spilled on the fine floors, staining them the color of their kingdom. Her chest rose and fell quickly, there was no hope. The queen grabbed her step child's head, removed the knife from her chest, and slashed her throat with the same knife. No mercy. Whatever humanity was left inside of me was gone. These people were mad. They were sick, disgusting people. I struggled not to vomit as my stomach turned on itself. Gina had fed me, she had warned me about the treatment I would receive, she told me about her parents feud and tried to help. She was going to escape. I told her to run off. Then they caught her, tortured her, they tortured their own flesh and blood. Then they tricked me into giving her up and they killed her. Her blood continued to flow on the ground, it was pooling now. This was all my fault. All of my fault.

"Now Bellamy. I have a proposition for you." Cage said, he walked towards his wife and took the bloodied knife from her. Wiping it off on his peplos.

"You can torture me. Or kill me. But I won't do anything for you." I snarled. Cage raised an eyebrow at me.

"Lus em au." He said to the guards. They came to me and unlocked the shackles, I rubbed my wrists which were bright red and raw. It stung.

"We've sent three hundred warriors to her, but she killed them all." The queen mumbled.

"We will give you your freedom, if you do one thing. Bring us the head of the Gorgon Wanheda."


	4. The Banishment

Banishment wasn't a bad thing, I quite enjoyed it actually. There was a forest and meadow a few miles away from the temple, so I traveled there and tried to build a home in a cave nearby, the door was blue, the interior had bright tapestries I had snuck out of markets, it wasn't in my nature to steal but if I was going to be alone, I'd like to have a decorated home. It took a while but I had managed to find clay, and made pots, plates, even cutlery so I could eat properly. Out here, I wasn't a monster, the snakes that plagued my head hissed every now and then but for the most part, they stayed quiet. They didn't eat, but they did sleep, they no longer tried to bite me. Being banished had it's perks, I couldn't hurt anyone was the best one, but I got to study as much as I wanted, I could read all of the scriptures and books I wanted, I could paint, draw, I could pick flowers and lay in the meadow, looking at clouds. It was peaceful. But people came looking for me. It had happened too much. It reminded me of how the temple reacted when they saw that Lexa had cursed me. By accident I looked at one of the professors, they turned to stone as well, after that I shielded my eyes and fled the temple so no one else could suffer the same fate there. I hoped my mom hadn't heard what happened to me, so she wouldn't feel more shame or disappointment for her family. The odds weren't in my favor, word would have spread from Athens to Arkadia like wildfire. A new monster. A new fear for the mortals. Some new bounty for monster hunters. Luckily it was only the Mount Weather people who had attempted to harm me, the rest were just trying to make ends meet, I could tell by their dress and shoes. Poor men with nothing to lose. Women just trying to provide. Children were the worst. Their fear was on display for me as they threw their stones and spears or when they tried to sneak around one of the memorial trees while I was carving in it only to come face to face with me. So many lives frozen in place, so many statues, I carved their names into trees in the forest and left their body next to it, so their family could claim them. My stomach always knotted, I stopped throwing up after they turned to stone a few weeks ago, I only cried now. I began to wear a himation over my head to cover the snakes, to stop the wandering eyes of travelers if there were ever any. I had been living in peace for a long while. Though with time, it grew sad. The loneliness would set in when I would lay on my cot at night, or when I'd be weaving the flowers together, like today. The scent of hyacinth, orchids, and cliff roses filled my cave as I pieced together new wreaths, the next one would be daffodil, cistus, and crocus flowers. Purples, yellows, and pinks, something to cheer up the dead and their families if they found them. I was thinking of my mother, and curious to how she was doing, was she still creating tonics and oils for the town? Was she mourning me? Or was she...could she have died by now? From shame. Her husband had dishonored our family but I had been the one to destroy it.

"She's doing fine." Lexa's voice said from behind me. I whipped around and threw the wreath I had made at her head. She didn't turn to stone when I looked at her, because she was a Goddess. Or was it because she was the one who cursed me.

"You're not welcome in here. You need to leave now." I screamed. Lexa didn't flinch was the flowers hit her square in the chest, she just looked down at them.

"I know you're upset, Clarke. But I had to protect you." She said, her green eyes looked apologetic. But I didn't believe a word out of her mouth after what I had witnessed. The trial. Raven standing up for me. Even Murphy said no, in fact he'd criticized her.

"Protect me? Please. You cursed me!"

"They wanted to kill you. I stopped them." She snapped. The creature was lying to me, but I couldn't even tell her I knew it was false. Monty could get into trouble and I didn't want him to be punished as I had.

"I don't believe you." I whispered. Tears flowed down my face.

"Clarke…" She started. I turned my back to her and went back to weaving, maybe I'd paint my revenge later. Then send it through the messenger to the Gods, Sterling. Then I could get into more trouble. I heard her shift nervously on her feet, as if she didn't know what to do. Good.

"May we meet again." Lexa finished. I turned around, and looked her in the eye. The weight in my chest grew heavier as I felt my anger and hate fill me.

"You better hope we don't." I hissed. Things went back to normal after that, she stopped trying to visit me, anytime she attempted I'd brush her off. I lived in a bitter peace, the loneliness grew and hardened my heart even more. I craved human interaction, I thought maybe I could speak to a nymph...or dryad, since Lexa hadn't turned, so maybe they wouldn't. But they did. I felt the Earth shift when it happened. It was like a scream sounding from the Lord of the Wild, Artigas. He was mourning their lives, so I burned the food and flowers I had for him that night. The scent of orchids and sage filled my nose, he was forgiving me. It was as if he knew it wasn't my fault completely. I cried for hours after that. Word must have spread through the statues in the forest, someone must've found them because soldiers from a far off kingdom came for me. They had chased me through the woods with their swords and spears ready to harm me, I ran until I reached a cliff, the drop off scared me, but at that moment I was prepared to do whatever it took to remain free. Even if that meant death. I wouldn't be a weapon for anyone. I stopped on the edge and pulled my himation down. Their voices got louder as they approached me, speaking Trigedasleng, the language of the Mountain Men, I could understand they were saying that they'd take me hostage. So I could be their weapon. They screamed and yelled at me to stop.

"Ma fig'ison nou Moblan." I yelled. Then I removed the cover and turned around, letting the snakes spread out and hiss loudly. The crackling noise sliced through the air, and at once, three hundred men turned to stone. I had no care for them, no sympathy, so I destroyed their statues and went to bed. It was the first time I had let the darkness inside take over. It almost tainted my land with it. But I couldn't be taken. I refuse to take innocent lives for a king to take over the land. They'd been silent since then. I constructed new flower wreaths for the unclaimed statues and hung them around their necks, when they wilted and died like everything else, I wove new ones.


	5. The Beginning

rigedasleng was hard to pick up but I managed, pretty soon I could hold a conversation with Maya, Gina's former attendant. They held me in the dungeon until word got back about where Wanheda was. She was a weeks trek away, but I'd have to get the weapons to slay her. They told me to go to the Graeae, and convince them to ask the Gods for a celestial bronze sword and shield. Something that would cut through her flesh. Then they'd let me go for good. I could live my life away from Mount Weather. But I didn't care if this creature turned me to stone, I didn't care if I failed their mission, but something inside me told me not to get killed. To live. So I could live for the family I lost. So I'd fight for the chance to be free. From what I've heard, she was hideous, her hair held thousands of snakes, her body had millions of scales, and her fangs dripped with venom, she was dangerous, the only time you could kill her was when she slept, when her eyes were closed and it was safe to look at her. Otherwise you're turned to stone. A chiseled momentum for her forest where she would take pride in destroying your body. Maya helped me out of the dungeon, they no longer kept me in shackles, Cage decided I was to be sent out with a pack of supplies, and Maya to take with me. She'd send word back when we got to the towns on the way to the Gorgon's den. The Graeae were out of the way of the lair though, about a four day hike from her home.

"There's some rations in here for us, some bread, fruit, and cheese. We can replenish them once we reach the next village." Maya said. I gave her a curt nod and headed towards the armory, if I was to fight whatever, I'd need something stronger than the clothes they'd provided. Maya walked me to the room, and whispered a prayer to one of the Gods, something about loving and caring, of drinking and being merry. I couldn't care less, the Gods had done nothing to protect me, or anyone else I cared about. They'd forsaken me. We reached the door, she opened it up and I headed in grabbing a golden breastplate off of the wall. There were leathers and cloaks, javelins, swords, shields, and bows with copious amounts of arrows nestled close by tucked safely in their quivers.

"Can we carry all of this?" I asked Maya gruffly. She shifted on her feet.

"I think you can manage the bow, and some of the smaller knives with a sword."

"No javelin?" I asked. She gave me a small smile, glancing at the long, sharp, stick.

"No. No javelins." She giggled. I went around the room, grabbing the golden knives, experimenting with the swords, a shield with a small design of a mountain on it caught my eye so I grabbed that. Maya helped herself to two bronze knives, a bow, a quiver full of arrows, and some leathers to protect her back and chest. We were ready to head out to see the Graeae, it would take a few days trek, and two stops in two different villages, TonDC and Polis. We'd circle back to Polis and head over to the meadow where the monster supposedly resides, the king was giving us enough money to buy rooms in the inns on the way there.

"Ai haihefa as klin yu tiya haisidon raunkova." A guard said barging into the room. Maya nodded.

"Sha cheka." She responded.

"Throne room?" I asked slowly, processing the fast tongue of the guard. Trig was like shortened english spoken faster than usual, it had different conjugations, but it was easily pieced together. But I couldn't understand everything, I knew basic castle conversation needs, and simple words to regard the servants. We grabbed our packs and began to head over to the throne room, still stained from Gina's death, the scent was thicker than any other smell. Her blood was still painted on the dark floors, her body was now missing, but the reminder of what happened was still fresh in my mind. My fault.

"Ah Bellamy. Are you ready to get me what I want?" Cage said from his golden throne, he was drinking red wine from a crystal goblet, it was nicer than anything I had ever seen, something that my mother would have liked. She always liked crystals and glass, they were finer things we could never get, maybe we could right before my family had all perished. I clenched my jaw tightly, and nodded.

"Good. Bring me her head, or else I'll have yours. And don't get any funny ideas, we wouldn't want another accident now would we Maya?" He snapped, looking at the small girl. She stood her ground though, staring at him with fire in her dark eyes. It was admirable that she wasn't petrified of him. Maybe the small hope of freedom once she left these palace walls was giving her strength, maybe it was because we had formed a bond, maybe it was because we were both stuck in the same place fearing we'd never leave. Her in this palace, me in my own mind.

"You have three weeks. Ban op ai haisidon. Nowe kom daun na kom ai gada in melon kom Wanheda." He waved his hand as if to dismiss us. A guard came up and shoved us out of the gold and blood filled room, with any luck we'd never see it again. The guard continued to lead Maya and I to an oversized, ornate door encrusted with jewels all different shades of green, the handles and details were plated with gold and silver, red rubies lined the walls around it like little stars. A servant was carving something into the wall, I noticed she had a small cloth bag full of red gems. I tilted my head even as the doors opened and pushed us out into the sun. Maya hissed when it hit her, it was as if she hadn't been outside in years. I strained my head to look back, but it got hit when the door slammed shut. It hit my head with a thud.

"Come on. We have to get going." Maya said. I adjusted my satchel and started towards her, she began down the marble stone that led from the door to the gates. Gardens lush and green surrounded us, flowers, ones that my mom liked to recieve, I think my father called them Crocus flowers, they were deep purple that faded to white. She said it was her favorite because it reminded her of a night fading away to the dawn. The promise of a new day, I used to believe her, but now I can't find it. The colors faded to grey as we exited the palace gates, it was quiet here. No birds sang, the waves from the unforgiving sea didn't roar, the town was silent from fear of their unforgiving king.

"Why the red jewels?" I asked. Maya looked at me once we hit the dirt road.

"They add a new one each time they kill someone." She said simply. Dread filled my stomach. Was that Gina's jewel?

"No it wasn't Gina's...they bleed slaves, kidnap alleged criminals from other towns...it was one of theirs. Gina got a sapphire at the top of the door. The blood makes for beautiful paint according to Queen Anya." Maya whispered. I nodded. We didn't talk much after, we just walked into the town, I looked back at the palace and shuddered. It looked menacing, not welcoming like the one from my home. Granted the King of my home was related to my father, but his people didn't fear him, the gates were always open, there were monthly town meetings to spread ideas on how to improve our home, our city, how to make life better for everyone. That's how the kingdom should be run, not with the bloodied, iron fist this Cage monster was doing. People glanced at us from their ramshackle homes as we walked down the path, their eyes filled with fear and curiosity. It broke my heart to see the town in such disarray, children were dirty and playing in puddles in the ground, trash littered the streets, the adults all had dark circles, and bruising all over their arms and legs. They were emaciated, sickly looking, and miserable. My heart ached for them, to live under a disgusting monster for a king. Who worked them to death and bled them for selfish reasons.

"Beja, sis au ai kru tripi hef." A small child said from the dark entryway to his home. I looked at the small one, their hair was long, curly, and unkempt, their eyes were brimming with tears. My throat felt tight, I didn't want them to think me a hero, I wasn't.

"Emo laik hayon." Another person whispered. Maya took notice and began mumbling a prayer, not in Trigedasleng, it was English.

"They only speak Trig. If you're brought to the palace as a servant, you learn English to spy on prisoners from other lands. I was born into it. I grew up speaking both proficiently, but I would forget to speak Trig sometimes when I was younger. When you're serving in the palace and there's no guests, we had to speak Trig, I would forget. They'd hang me upside down until I would start to black out. Cage said the blood rushing to my head would help my brain remember it's place." She said. Her voice was flat, dead, as if the stories of her past had traumatized her to the point of feeling no pain.

"That's...horrible." I mumbled, not knowing what else to say.

"After the first few times I remembered to only speak Trig in their presence, I only spoke English when I was in my family's quarters...and it hasn't happened since." She said. Her voice was getting tighter, like she was about to snap.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." I said. She nodded and we continued walking in silence. But soon as we reached the end of their village more and more people whispered that word to us again. Hayon. Hayon. Hayon. It wasn't familiar to me. Maya bit her lower lip and dipped her head to stare at the ground as we walked. The rocks and dirt crunched under our feet as their voices faded away, still repeating that word. Guards were at the edge snapping curses at the people, and pointing their swords at them, preventing them from leaving.

"What does it-"

"God. They were saying you were a God." She cut me off.

"Why?" I asked. She shrugged. I guess that was all the answer I was going to get for now. The woods were in the distance as we traveled down the hill that led to Mount Weather. Maya began to laugh as we got farther and farther away, she seemed joyous even though we were headed towards certain death. There was a skip in her step, she took out the braid she was keeping her hair in and let her wild curls free, she let out a small yelp and began running towards the forest. I chased after her, I wanted to smile but something inside just wouldn't let me. I was genuinely happy for her though, the weight on my chest still hadn't lifted. I still felt the loss deep within me, and something else stirred within, I wanted to run from this task I was forced upon, but something inside, that voice I heard sometimes, the one that wasn't mine or the ghosts of my past, it told me to go through with it. Something bigger than this was coming towards me, I could feel it.

"Bellamy look at how many trees there are! There weren't this many in Mount Weather!" She laughed. The trees whistled with the wind and sheltered us from the beating rays of the afternoon sun. The forest got denser, and the light faded as we traveled further into it, Maya's thrill of being outdoors faded as it got colder, her feet began to ache, and her legs were starting to cramp. Owls hooted in the distance, night was beginning to spread over us.

"Is there a spot we can stop for the night?" She asked softly. I knew she was tired, she wasn't used to walking this much, we'd been at it for hours at this point.

"I think we're close to TonDC, just a little while longer. Ok?" I said. She groaned and nodded, pulling a epiblema from her satchel and wrapping it around herself. Wolves howled signaling the rising moon which then lit up our path, it filtered through the trees, the scent of pine and junipers filled my nose, sage and orchids followed shortly after. The scent of the Wild, Artigas was nearby, I heard singing and giggles deep within the trees. Nymphs.

"What's that?" Maya asked stepping closer to me. She grabbed my arm tightly.

"It's Artigas' nymphs, they're probably watching us."

"I've never seen one in person they tell us if we're close to the town?" She asked almost excitedly. I nodded

"Actually we can't. We know your mission." A small voice said.

"Artigas has forgiven her, but we haven't forgotten." Another said.

"We just want to rest for the night." I called. Whispers surrounded us and the wind began to pick up. The air turned to static, the hair on the back of my neck stood up, my arms felt prickly as the charge surged through Maya and I. She looked all around to see what had caused it, as if there were any other explanation. I knew it was something else, something magic.

"You're nearly there, ten more minutes and you should see the lights from the city you seek." A male voice said. The scent of the Wild filled the air again, Artigas had spoken to us. The Lord of the Wild himself.

"Thank you. Is there anything you'd like us to offer to you for our gratitude?" I asked.

"You'll see soon enough she is not what you think." He declared. Then he was gone. All that was left was the scent of pine and juniper, the giggles had stopped, the whispers went, all that was left was the howling of wolves, and the songs of the crickets.


	6. The Revelation

The meadow was especially quiet today, the birds didn't sing, the winds had shifted. Something was up but I just couldn't put my finger on it. I was in the middle of soaking some wooden strips to make a new basket when chills ran up and down my spine, static didn't hit me as it used to when there was a God nearby. I wondered who it could be. Probably Lexa once again trying to make amends she'd never be able to make. She started to leave little gifts for me at the base of my cave, a flower, a wreath, jewelry, a pearl, but I would go to the river and throw them in for the naiads. They would squeal so loudly I could hear them over the sounds of water flowing and fish jumping. I wiped my wet hands off on a a cloth nearby and stepped towards the mouth of the cave, I saw her before she could look up at me, and pulled my himation over my head and the veil I was still working on as well. It was dark blue and thin, with small white beads I had made using the granite rocks, the beads formed constellations, but not all of them. Some nights I spent hours with my fingers bleeding as I ground them and heated them to almost glass perfection, it hurt and took forever but it was so worth it.

"Clarke I know you're in there." Her voice rang out, confident and unafraid. I stepped closer, not wanting to turn her into stone as well. I knew Lexa had been immune, but I didn't know if other Gods were as well. I kept my eyes to the ground and stared at her mismatched feet, one bone and flesh with a beautiful golden sandal that snaked its way up her caramel leg, the other bronze, gold, and silver with gears and bolts, twisting into a beautiful design of laurels until they fastened tightly to her mid thigh.

"Raven. What brings you here?" I asked softly. Her emerald stola swished lightly, the metal leg clanked as she walked over to me, she had a slight limp.

"Lexa assured me you can look at me Clarke."

"I don't trust her. I'm sorry, I can't risk it." I replied. Raven sighed but brushed past me into the cave. Her visiting me was making me nervous, even though she had come to my defense at their meeting.

"Monty told me everything. I know you saw the trial. Lincoln saw you there as well." My heart thudded hard against my chest, if he saw me, would he say something to one of them? Would Lincoln do that?

"He didn't tell anyone else but me. Don't worry, we know you've gone through enough." She said, venturing further into my home. Raven's hands touched the tapestries I had hung up, then they drifted to some of my sketches and paintings.

"So why are you here Raven?" I asked. Her eyes met mine, they were dark and full of knowledge no one else could possibly understand. Like she had been through eons of torture and trauma that would never leave her. But it was guiding her, and she hadn't turned to stone like everyone else had. Then again I was wearing the veil over my eyes. I removed it and looked at her again, my snakes were trying to escape the himation, she still didn't turn to stone.

"Because I wanted to apologize to you. You didn't deserve this at all, we both know that."

"And?"

"I've left Finn, I'm working on a punishment for him for straying and taking advantage of innocent girls like yourself. No one should be tricked the way he tricked you."

"It wasn't just him though, sure he started to court me. But Luna sent him to the temple." I said sitting down on my cot, Raven rushed to my side and took my hand.

"What do you mean Luna sent him?" She demanded. I shrugged and looked placed my hands in my lap.

"Exactly what I said. Monty overheard her talking to Finn, he says she wants to start a war with Lexa." Raven rubbed her temples roughly, then stood up and began to pace around my cave.

"She's been wanting this for decades and she's finally got it. Lexa and Luna have butted heads ever since Athens chose its patron Goddess."

"They chose Lexa."

"And Luna was furious. They fought almost every day after that, even when they had the truce they found ways to make each other mad. But it was revealed that Lexa was stealing the figurines Marcus had made. All of them resembled the people of Athens, and all of her handmaidens." Her words felt as if they'd punched me in the gut. So that's why we had all drifted towards her, not because we wanted to, but because she'd forced us. Made us need her more than any other God. That'd why I had prayed for her help, and why so many of us including me felt as if we were missing something in our lives. Why I still felt like something was missing, but my heart couldn't be swayed anymore. I realize now that I can't feel love anymore. After she had turned me into this monster...love had faded into thin air. I had my empathy still, and I felt pain, but I couldn't feel love. It was if she had let all but that emotion out of Pandora's box and left me to my own devices. To let me live a lifetime without love. To rot in my bitterness. The weight in my chest grew to the point where it practically pulled me down to the ground. I fell to my knees and wept again. Raven rushed to my side, her metal leg sounded like it got scratched on the hard rock, she ignored it and stroked my back while avoiding the constant movement of my snakes under the himation. The earth cracked open beneath me, allowing me to fall and shatter into millions of pieces

"Clarke...I will make this right I swear to you." She whispered.

"How?" I sobbed. She embraced me tightly as if to push me back together again. The sobs wracked through my body more than they had when I had turned into this creature. More than when my father was ripped from our home and forced to carry the sky on his shoulders. My free will was ripped from my hands before I could take my first breath. Before I had a chance to even live. She stole my life from me, and for what?

"Why did she do this to me?" I cried. Raven stiffened at my side, her hands stopped soothing me and her breathing grew harsh.

"Get away from her." Lexa's voice snapped. I looked up, my snakes managed to push the cloth covering them off and began to reach for her hissing, fangs dripping with every toxic poison they could muster.

"You." I mumbled, standing up. Raven gripped me tightly, but I still pushed forward screaming and fighting against her hold, my arms thrust in front of me, claws grew out of the tips of my fingers and began to drip with a clear liquid. Venom. Long painful fangs sprouted from my gums and filled my mouth with a bitter, nasty flavor that numbed the rest of my mouth.

"Clarke please. Stop this childish tantrum and listen to me." Lexa said rolling her eyes. Raven scoffed then slowly let me go, knowing what she was allowing me to do, I wound back and spit on Lexa with all the force I could find within myself. She screamed and wiped her face off with her dress, holding it there for a moment, when she pulled back her skin was raised and pink, small trickles of black blood fell from her wounds, nose, and her right eye. Lexa looked shocked, better yet, she looked scared. More than any mortal had been when looking into my eyes. This type of fear motivated me to move closer to her, I ran a sharp clawed finger down her cheek, drawing more blood from her once fair skin.

"You stole our lives. Our free will. You stole us from our futures." I spat.

"Please...Clarke I loved them. I love you." She begged, she fell to her knees and began to pray.

"Marcus won't listen to you anymore Lexa. Not since he found out your dirty little secret." Raven snapped. She turned to me and gave me a malicious smile.

"He has to! I'm still a Goddess!" She cried. Raven limped towards Lexa and bent down to face her continually swelling face. I felt a warmth spread through me as I embraced this darkness moving within me, it wasn't evil but it wasn't good either. It was something else, something powerful that scared me.

"Consider this your revocation. The Goddess of Strategy and Wisdom Lexa is no more." Raven said softly. It cut through the air like a knife.

"I shouldn't...I shouldn't have done this to you Clarke. I'm so sorry." Lexa whimpered, the swelling continued to grow, shutting one of her eyes completely. Her luminescent glow that gave her away as a Goddess faded away, she began to scream in pain as if her power being ripped away from her was agonizing. I could guarantee it wasn't nearly as agonizing as all of us finding out our predestined futures knitted by the furies were torn to shreds because of her. Our future children no longer promised to us, to grow up with a different mother, our husbands and wives to marry other people wondering why they felt unsatisfied in their marriages, it wasn't just my life or the lives of the handmaidens to her that were ruined, it was a chain of people. For centuries she had gotten away with this, and now...now I'd put an end to it.

"I told you. You'd regret coming back here. Now you'll have a reminder to stay away." I hissed at her. I drew my claws and fangs back into my body and the snakes calmed down a bit. Raven put a hand on my shoulder and squeezed it, she waved a hand in front of Lexa, who was cradling her face in her hands. With a shower of bronze and silver she was gone.

"I sent her somewhere far off, it'll take years for her to figure out how to get here should she choose to come back. I doubt she will though. Only her status was taken away, she still has powers though." Raven said. I nodded and clenched my jaw tightly.

"How will I return to normal though? I'm still this monster...and I lost control." I said shakily, sitting back down onto my cot. The soft blanket felt comforting, like one I had as a child, I rubbed it on my face, snuggling it.

"I'll figure something out." Raven declared. She gave me another hug, it was like a handshake promising me my future again. I felt something stir in my chest, it weighed me down again, but I tried to fight it off. We'd figure this out. We had to.


	7. The Promise

The sleepy town innkeeper welcomed Maya and I in with open arms, telling us how happy she was we could find our way here. Her smile was a little too bright for my taste, it seemed almost too good to be true. Maybe my guard was too high up, being in a strange new town. SHe provided us a room with one bed, it was piled high with beautifully woven cloth blankets and a fur that looked foreign to the land. Maya dropped her pack on a small wooden chair in the corner and gazed longingly at the bed.

"You can take the bed Maya, I'm gonna stay up for a bit and have a look around." I said, shrugging.

"But it's dark out." She argued. Her eyes widened as she thought I was going to escape.

"Emo blinka raun ostof auda graun! Emo gada loufa in!" She snapped. From what I could gather from the Trig she had spat at me, Cage had eyes all over, and something else I couldn't figure out.

"Spies. Bellamy. He has spies. For all we know that innkeeper could be one of them." Maya whispered. I hadn't thought about that. Cage would have to keep tabs on us, he mentioned that we couldn't escape, that he'd come after us.

"I won't run off. Don't worry." I said, shrugging on a red cloak and clasped it with the golden circlet that had a ruby in the center. A blood ruby. Someone had to die for the cloak to get its red color. I shuddered and threw it off as soon as I realized. Maya glanced at it and gave me a look, her brown eyes held something dark within them, like she knew whose blood it was.

"I'll be back soon, don't worry. I wouldn't jeopardize your freedom." I said. I turned my back to her and headed towards the door, Maya sighed, the bed creaked as she lay down on it. The innkeeper was doing a room check a few doors down, her blue eyes met mine, they seemed nervous but she plastered that smile from earlier on.

"Hello! Are you doing well in your room?" She asked brightly. I nodded and ducked my head as I started down the stairs near our door. But I stopped and looked at her, she had long blonde hair pulled halfway up with a golden headband, much too expensive for an ordinary innkeep to have, her chiton was a deep brown with green detailing on the edges, also too expensive. Unless she knew a skilled seamstress who could work her magic with dye. Like my mother. She tried to teach me how to dye cloth using crushed flowers and beetles, it was messy and frustrating, but she got through to me eventually.

"Know any good bars around here?" I asked.

"There's a tavern three doors down." She said quickly. She scampered down the hall after that, as if she were scared of me, or nervous to be seen for too long. But I trusted her advice on that tavern, so I headed down and out to the dirt road. The small town of TonDC was lit by torches and oil lamps, as if to tell visitors they were welcome at all times, their small homes were built of stone and rock, the bigger buildings had beautiful masonry done by people clearly talented in the art of stonework. Maybe even metal work. The tavern was three doors down like the innkeep had said, it had dark and light grey rounded stones plastered into walls, two large doors, and shutters that were opened to let the smell of malt and hops. The scent was delicious and inviting, rich, toasty carobs, and herbal spice with citrus and flowers. I opened the front doors as quick as I could and seated myself at their wooden counter, I let myself relax for a moment before taking in my surroundings. Men and women alike were seated at tables enjoying a late night meal, some at the counter having a casual beverage with their friends, chatting about life, marriage, children, how would the Gods feel about the rumors going around the land. I ignored the rumor because it didn't interest me. What was the point in worrying about the Gods if they didn't give a damn about me?

"What'll you be having stranger?" The bartender asked. He was tall and gangly with brown cropped hair, his dark eyes were warm and friendly, he smelled like plums and pine, an odd set of spectacles rested on the top of his head.

"Whatever's the strongest." I mumbled. My eyes burned from not sleeping much and my head ached, but it would be resolved in a matter of pints. The bartender slid a giant kylix filled to the brim with a golden-brown, delicious smelling substance.

"My greatest brew of them all." He said grinning. I took a sip, the bitterness of the ale was complemented by the sweetness of the pear undertones, it was tarte as I gulped the warm brew down. Flavors danced all over my taste buds as I continued to drink, it was incredibly smooth and easy to take in, and it was absolutely delicious.

"Easy there friend. It goes down easy but it'll come back tomorrow with a vengeance." The tender laughed. He was quite jovial for working so late at night. My stomach began to feel warm, my cup was already half empty. I hadn't realized I had drank that much already.

"Just keep them coming." I mumbled. The warmth spread as the nameless bartender refilled my kylix up, and the edges of my vision turned fuzzy.

"What brings you to my little tavern in TonDC stranger?" The barkeep asked.

"I'm just traveling through. Stopped for the night." I managed. My words weren't slurring yet, but it was getting hard to think.

"My name is Jasper. May I have yours?" He smiled.

"Bellamy."

"As in Blake?" He asked suspiciously. I nodded and took a big drink from the cup.

"I heard about your family, I'm so sorry to hear of your loss. Whatever you desire will be free." Jasper said softly. I nodded slightly. The ache was receding but the horrifying events of the last few weeks had come flooding back into my head. My mother dying, my fathers last prayer thanking that sea witch, my sisters bright future being taken away from her before she even had time to live it, Mount Weather. The salt and heat that scratched at tore at my skin, the wire brushes that ripped me until I wanted to scream. Cage's torturous methods of gathering information, with beatings then using some strange liquid to fix me, then beating me again, though I don't know why he'd pick me for this suicide mission. Killing Gina. The person who tried to help me out of that hell hole. My stomach churned, but it wasn't from the dizzying drink, from the terror growing in the pit of my stomach. What creatures lay in my path, the ones that I'd have to convince to help me in the ways this mission demanded, how there was a fair possibility this Gorgon thing was going to murder me. The millions of ways this could go wrong. I didn't notice I was sipping my ale, tasting pears and wheat as it went down.

"Here try this, my best friend Monty has been brewing a storm, he needs a taste tester." Jasper said brightly, handing me a small wooden cup, the liquid inside was clear, like water, and the cup was too small to do any damage so I picked it up and took a drink. Burning acid-like liquid filled my mouth and scorched my throat as I swallowed it down, I grimaced as I set the cup down.

"What the hell was that? Acid?" I coughed. Jasper let out a hearty laugh and took the cup that contained the mystery liquid away from me.

"My friend isn't sure what to call it yet. Was it good?" He asked me hopeful. The world began to spin and turn over on itself. Maybe now it'd go right. Maybe my family would come back if I kept this up, I could see their ghosts. Or maybe I can...I don't know. I couldn't think straight.

"It's working." I slurred, trying to get up. The world tilted again, I stumbled into the stool next to mine.

"I wouldn't get up just yet, here sit down. Talk to me." Jasper said, coming around and helping me back onto the stool. He sat next to me and sipped something out of a golden chalice, too expensive for a bartender who offered free drinks to those mourning. I took a deep, shuddering breath, and drained the last of my bitter, pear ale.

"Harper, can you make a plate for our guest please?" He asked the girl serving a table behind us.

"Sure thing." She said, and sped over to a small room. Jasper rubbed my back as if to help stabilize my spinning world. It wasn't working, I kept replaying the sinking in my head and the tears slipped from my eyes.

"Bellamy...why do you cry?" He asked.

"I lost my family. I lost my freedom. I've lost everything." I cried quietly. Jasper continued to rub my shoulder, the scent of plums and pine grew stronger, maybe there were cakes baking, and wind for the pine...or someone could've dragged it in on their sandals. Though everyone here seemed to be barefoot. Some of them seemed to glow this beautiful luminous gold, some had blue tints, green tints, even silver glimmering off of Harper as she delivered a plate with fish, cheese, bread, and various fruits. My head was beginning to pound from all of the ale and whatever his friend had created, Jasper handed me his goblet and signaled for me to drink. So I did, the liquid inside was thick, sticky, and cloyingly sweet. Like pure nectar from honeysuckle or syrup going straight down my throat. It made me cough a little bit, but I began to see clear again, the world stopped spinning. Harper snagged a grape off the plate and winked at me, then offered me a little pastry square on a seperate plate that tasted of honey and something else I couldn't quite put my finger on. But it was delicious, and cleared my head completely. It was if I hadn't been drunk just a second ago and seeing things. But everything felt heightened, everything in my vision was sharpened, I felt tingling in my legs and fingertips, as if I had been electrified.

"What did you just give me?" I asked, they glanced at each other as if they were confused.

"Nectar and Ambrosia. What else would we give you?" Jasper said simply. My heart began to race, that stuff killed mortals, only the Gods could eat that, my stomach did a flip as I panicked about my impending death, but I felt at peace odd enough. I could be with my family again, just like I wanted.

"Bellamy...did you not know?" Harper asked suddenly, leaning forward on the counter.

"Know about what? That you just sentenced me to death?" I demanded. They both burst into laughter, drawing the attention of the tavern-goers sitting enjoying their evening. They all began to laugh along with the bartender and the server.

"Bellamy, you can't perish from eating the food of the Gods. You are a demigod." Jasper said simply. My heart fell as the words were uttered from his lips.

"No I'm not. I'm not a demigod." I snapped standing up, my stool fell to the floor with a bang.

"Have you ever wondered about that voice you sometimes hear in your head? The one that guides you whenever you're unsure of yourself? The one that you couldn't quite place?" Jasper asked. I nodded, but clenched my jaw not wanting to hear what he was about to say.

"That's your father speaking."

"My father is dead."

"No, not the one who raised you. The one who gave you life. Marcus."

"Marcus? The...the king?" I stuttered. He nodded and gave me a serious look, his once warm and friendly eyes turned dark.

"Something is going on, and I've been trying to figure out what. Harper serves us our ambrosia and nectar on Olympus but everyone's been quiet since one of our own got dethroned, you're visiting the Graeae before the monster you know as Wanheda correct?" I nodded.

"Good. Once you've gotten Wanheda in your hands, take her back the the Graeae, they'll tell her how to fix everything." He said. He glanced around anxiously as if he was being spied on.

"The innkeeper Bree, is the spy for Mount Weather as I'm sure you guessed, but she can't speak their language. Return, and get some rest tonight, because you need to set off as soon as the sun begins to rise." He said quickly. He then began to rise from his seat and push me towards the door. I was still processing everything he had just told me. No wonder Cage wanted me to do the job, I wasn't a mere mortal, I could do things others couldn't. It explained so much, why I heard the strange voice in my head, why my father who'd raised me always avoided the ever present question of how he found my mother and I. I still didn't know the full story, but maybe the Graeae could help me with that, as well as guide me on this mission.

"Who are you?" I asked the man before me. He gave me a sweeping grin and held and arm out to the tavern now full of nymphs, dryads, minor Gods and Goddesses, and a centaur. The ambrosia helped me see them as they truly were.

"Jasper. God of Wine, Ale, and pretty much anything that can be brewed, fermented, or distilled." He said with a grin. It became clear why the ale I had consumed was so delicious. It was brewed by the God himself.

"Just trust your gut Bellamy. You'll do the right thing." He said, then he pushed me out of the tavern as quick as possible. The lamps and torches and gone out, night consumed everything. But the moon guided the path back to the inn where Bree was waiting to spy on me. Maya was probably in bed dreaming, I'd have to take the floor. But that was alright with me. She deserved the comfort more than anyone else. Bree was in the front room again with her fake grin at full force.

"Enjoy yourself?" She asked brightly.

"They had some of the best ale and fish I've ever had." I mumbled. She nodded and looked down, scribbling on a piece of paper. I headed up to the room and made my bed on the ground. Maya was laying down, huddled under the blankets sleeping soundly. My mind was still racing with questions about my newfound knowledge of my demigod status. It was no surprise I couldn't sleep at all. Glancing at the bed, Maya was then sitting upright, praying to someone.

"Please help me, I need you to protect me from this monster, he will kill me once I return just like my father." She whispered into her folded hands. Her body shuddered as she sniffed her nose, she was crying.

"Maya?" I whispered.

"Bellamy!" She exclaimed, startled. I stood up and went over to her, sitting down and resting my arm around her small shoulder.

"Tell me what happened." I said. She started to sob all over again, hardly containing herself. Bree was listening from the other side of the door no doubt.

"Chit get daun yu?" I asked softly. Her brown eyes met mine, they were stained red, brimming with what seemed to be endless tears.

"Chomouda yu chichplei Trigedasleng Belomi?" She responded curiously.

"Bre no chicha Trigedasleng." I responded. Her eyes widened as she realized Bree was the spy.

"Cage frag op ai noni en nomi. Ai seingeda. Nau em na frag ai op taim ai komba raun." She was afraid he was going to kill her when she returned, and honestly I was afraid for her as well. There was no way of knowing what that madman would do to the both of us. Or what this monster would do, Jasper told me to bring her to the Graeae once we found her, and who was I to argue with him? With a God. But in that moment I realized that she had lost just as much as me, she had lost her family too. They were murdered by Cage as well. For what, I have no idea, I wouldn't force her to tell me, it took a lot just to say her family was killed.

"Ai shoun Hayon kom Sawajus. Em biyo em gaf osir gon lid Wanheda gon kom Graeae." I whispered. Maya shoved me off and jumped off the bed. She stood before me looking terrified.

"Yu hit laik Hayon kom Sawajus? The God of Wine?" She snapped. I shrugged and nodded. Maya began to pace.

"Ai heimbri gaf em in." She said slowly. It didn't take much to realize she loved him, she loved Jasper.

"How long?" I asked her. She blushed furiously and shrugged.

"For a while. Em hez op ai. Ai hod em in, em hod ai in." She said softly. I smiled for the what felt like the first time ever.

"Ai swega klin ai gon breik yu au, yu nou kampa eni mou." I swore. As long as we were working together, I would do anything to help her secure her freedom from that creature who stole her life, and the lives of so many.


	8. The Nightmare

Raven began visiting more and more, she was becoming one of my best friends, granted those who usually stared me in the eyes turned to rock. She stayed around, reading books and leaving them there for me so I could continue educating myself. She knew that being a healer was important to me, I may have been forced to go to the temple to learn, but I had always wanted to do more than what the other girls in our village were doing, farming, being housewives, working at inns, running a stand in the town center, nothing with enough substance or worth to me. Healing was what I had always wanted to do, to make people feel better, ease their pain. But now all I did was cause pain and suffering, with each life I took, I ruined a family,a brother, a sister, a son or daughter. I ruined it all. The heaviness that rested in my chest grew and grew each day that passed. My friendship with Raven was the only thing keeping me sane at this point, it had been only a week since I lost control of myself and whatever power I held was set free for just a moment. The time it took to reel it back in was frightening, my fangs went back, but the claws stayed, the venom and poison my body produced took a day to stop secreting, it killed the flower wreaths I had been weaving, and whatever plant life was near me in a five foot radius. I had found some scales forming on my back later that night, right after Raven had left, they'd been covered by my shawl I wore. Day by day we studied together, and read every scripture on ancient curses but nothing came to us, nothing on whatever Lexa had cast upon me. It must've been something original, that she'd either stolen from Murphy's library or something she had created all on her own, though I was terrified to learn how she'd discovered this curse. At night, when Raven had gone, and when there was no more I could do to keep myself busy, I tried to sleep. Lately it had been extremely difficult, I kept having the same dream over and over, of some stranger cutting my head off and using it to turn everything in his path to stone. He had short cropped hair that seemed to be styled upwards with a nasty smelling oil. When I would jerk awake as he turned the first person, that scent stuck. Sometimes I would see the statues, and the families of them sobbing, and mourning. I'd wake up crying those mornings. I tried to avoid sleeping all together some nights, but it was always impossible. I began to sketch more, mostly my mom, sometimes my own father, those ones I hid because of what he had done. I thought about him when I stayed up late, how he was doing holding the sky on his back, it wasn't an easy job by any means, in fact it was almost impossible had Indra not given him just enough strength to hold it. Sometimes I cried when I thought of him, the pain he had to go through must be excruciating. Tonight was one of those nights where I felt exhausted after crying about him, and the life I was being forced to live. Raven had stopped by earlier with a snack, rabbit and some bread with cheese, roasted and packed by the server of the Gods, Harper. Sweet girl from what Raven had told me, and extremely loyal, she was the one who forced Monty to come to me, they were together according to Raven. Harper had left me a note letting me know she'd packed them with care and updated me on what she would hear behind the scenes of the throne room, so far nothing of interest but Luna had not shown up for their weekly meeting, she had been absent since I was cursed. There was no way of telling how long it had been since this had happened. I'd guess at least a month, maybe two. Time seemed to move slower in my meadow, for all I knew, it could've been years. That was my fear, that it'd been years since this happened to me, and everyone I loved and cared about had passed away in that time thinking something horrible happened to me and they couldn't figure out just what it was. They thought I had left them all. The night wore on, my eyes burned from needing to rest and from the tears I had shed, but I tried to fight it I didn't want to sleep and see anyone else's faces. My eyes grew heavy as I stared at the book before me, trying to study the causes of illness and how to mend broken bones. So monotonous.

The world looked grey and brown, no life was to be found anywhere. The trees were dead, and the flowers were withered, the sky looked yellow, and it tinted everything with despair. Something was really wrong, the world wasn't like this yesterday, it was lush, my meadow was green and thriving with life even though I caused death. My sandals crunched on the dead and browned grass as I walked towards the forest nearby. Not that there was much left of it, not even a sprout was there. The nymphs didn't giggle when I walked by, the naiads weren't singing, I couldn't even hear the river, it had stilled. As I continued down the beaten path, it got worse, the trees were burning as I walked past them, after wandering I came upon a village. Humanity was still surviving in this wasteland? I reached behind me for the himation I'd attached to my chiton, but it wasn't there. Panicking I hid behind a tree in case anyone walked near me, but no one came. It was so quiet, I couldn't even hear the birds, or water flowing, the sound of wind was all I heard, faintly. I decided then, to venture into the village to see what was happening. What I came upon was disturbing, rocks. Statues, some intact some had fallen and crumbled to nothing but dust. This was clearly my doing, my power had done this. I continued walking through the town, my stomach churning more and more as it got worse. Animals, mothers, children. Children whose lives I had stolen before they could even experience the world and all it had to offer. Stopping in the center I noticed papers on the ground, everyone's belongings strewn all over the dirt, glass windows shattered. I picked one of the papers up, it had a caricature of my face. But it wasn't my face, it was a reptilian one, with oversized fangs, scales, nose slits on the sides of my face, scales and big, yellow, rounded eyes with black slits in the center. It wasn't accurate, but it was how I was seen. A true monster. What I was. There was a reward on the bottom for thousands of drachmas, some only had a few hundred drachma as a reward. My power caused this madness, my power had cause me to turn everything to stone. I heard noises coming from the forest, voices, dangerous ones that made my hair stand up on my arms.

"Wanheda!" A man screamed. The Mountain Men. I bolted from the spot I was standing in, ran towards the cliff I had before turning hundreds of them to stone. I tripped on my way there, scraping my knees, blood spilled from them, they burned as I got up again, ignoring the throbbing pain from my cut hands. When I reached the cliff, men came out, skinny, unkempt, The sky grew darker, orange almost as I neared the edge. My foot slipped and that was it. I fell into the valley. Darkness enveloped me, and I braced myself for the ground.

I woke up screaming. The nightmares wouldn't end until I spoke to someone other than Raven. Something was coming, something big and I could feel it. I grabbed one of the books Raven left for me, one on all of the creatures from her...our world, it had everything in it, explanations on certain animals, monsters, and a certain trio I needed to get into contact with. The Graeae. They'd tell me what I would have to do to either cure myself, or make my life functional again. Maybe after that I could go home. I could be back in society again and do something good for humanity. I had to plan this though, down to the last detail. My life is at risk with the bounty already on my head because of Mount Weather, and the lives of countless others would be at risk when I left. I had my sort of safety nets with wrapping my snakes up, and having a veil over my eyes, but it'd draw attention. So it seems I can only travel at night...I'd have to start packing tomorrow. For tonight, I'd rest and hopefully the nightmares wouldn't return, hopefully this determination I had found won't disappear.


	9. The Grey Ones

We'd been traveling since before the sun rose two days ago, the pink sky greeted us every day since, and beat down on us as we continued, only to sink again and envelop us in the cold at night while we camped. Maya and I both decided to walk through the towns, ask where we were, then leave quickly. To avoid the spies Cage had. When we asked, we made sure to cover our faces and talk to a child or a person in the farmland, for extra precaution. The Graeae were just a few more hours away, she had found a shortcut which had split the time to get there in half. It wasn't bad, I was used to this kind of walking and work, and wound up carrying most of the supplies while Maya took it easy. She had endured torture and a lifetime of being a servant in a huge palace, but nothing like long hikes in the wild. It wasn't easy for the poor girl. We were taking it easy today, because we were getting so close, the light brown dirt was turning to black, coarse, rocks. The air was growing hotter as we approached, it was nearly time.

"What do you think they'll be like?" Maya asked. She tied her hair up in a tight bun at the top of her head, her shoulders were pink with sun from pulling her sleeves on her dirtied dress up. Freedom wasn't a bad look for her, the God of Wine was a lucky guy.

"I've heard the stories and myths, but I've learned to take those with a grain of salt. It's not always what it seems." I said. From what I had been told there were three of them, they were all withered with wrinkled, ancient faces of grey and black, their eyes were all missing so they had to share one that hung off of a connective tissue woven with magic, their mouths were mostly gums, and they loved to play tricks on the unsuspecting, trying to murder or harm those who wandered too closely. If you weren't smart, you wouldn't survive, but Maya and I...I think we have a shot. In fact I know we do.

"I think the stories we've heard are true, people have come back to tell their stories of them right?" Maya shrugged.

"And yet we hear rumors about this Wanheda, but supposedly no one survives her." I countered. She shrugged again, but then considered it.

"You may have a point there." She said. We continued on the uneven ground, watching our step so we wouldn't slip. The air got heavier and humid as we marched on, making out clothes stick to us with sweat, my sandals rubbed uncomfortably on my calves and ankles, the pack seemed to gain weight with each step. Maya was panting with exhaustion, almost losing her footing. We approached a clearing, rimmed with black rocks that look like they had been melted on the ground, a circular wall of the stone lay in the center, a dim glow from a fire greeted us. I unsheath my sword and held the small shield closely.

"Stay behind me, and don't fall back." I warned her. Her now tanned face grew as pale as she was in Mount Weather, she gulped and followed like I had instructed. Hoarse murmuring and footsteps echoed as we got closer.

"Give me the eye we have company." One of the voices hissed. It sounded female, but coarse like sandpaper.

"No, no, give me the eye. It's a special visitor." A male voice snapped, it was deep and harsh.

"Very special indeed. You had it last time! Give it here!" The last one said, another female but she sounded like her vocal cords had been run over and dragged through gravel.

"Shhhh. Son of Marcus approaches." The sandpaper voice said. We entered a small opening and saw the Graeae. Their gray skin was practically melting off their bones, they wore black cloaks and chitons with obsidian necklaces and pins, all had himations over their long, white hair that frizzed out with monstrous curls. The stories had been true. The huddled together at the otherside, sitting close to the fire.

"Son of Marcus. You have come finally." The manly voice said, he held the eye in his gnarled, claw-like hand. I did my best to keep stone faced, showing no fear as we got closer.

"He's come for a prophecy no doubt." The hoarse voice whispered.

"No he's come for something else."

"Something else. Something else. Son of Marcus wants something else." One of them snickered.

"I was sent here by-"

"Cage Wallace of The Mountain Men. We know that scoundrel well. He's sent you to die has he not?" The one with the eye said. I nodded, Maya's grip tightened on my back. Her breathing intensified with each word spoken by the creatures.  
"We shall tell you what you need. But first give her to us."

"Jasper's little plaything. We want her as tribute." Maya made a squeaking noise behind me, one of the Graeae rose from their position and snatched the eye, walking towards us. The other two followed and tried to grab at Maya who pushed herself off of me and scrambled to leave.

"Maya no!" I yelled. Using my shield, I thrust it forward hitting the one with the eye in the face, he stumbled back and dropped the thread that held the eye. It rolled towards the fire, the Graea scrambled blindly to grab it, Maya ran to it and picked it up before they even had a chance.

"You! Give us the eye slave." The sandpaper voice shrieked. Maya spit on the ground before them and gave me a look. I nodded at her, and walked to the opposite side of the fire. She threw it to me and I caught it with ease, the flames barely touched it.

"Son of Marcus." One of them whispered. I stiffened and held the eye closer to the fire.

"Tell me what I need to know about this Wanheda." I demanded. They huddled together hissing and grabbing onto one another as if in pain.

"Tell me!" I yelled. Maya moved around to me and handed me a small pin from her hair. It was sharp enough to do some damage. I held it up and held it before the pupil of the dried out eye. The grey skin surrounding it was just thin enough to make an easy prick into it. When I did they all screamed.

"You will kill us all!" One of them cried.

"Just tell him about the Gorgon!" Maya screamed. The male Graea disbanded himself and began to approach, holding his hand out.

"I can tell you but the price will be high." He said. I dug the pin in further. Their shrieks pierced my ears, but I pushed the pin deeper again.

"I have nothing. My family is dead. I have nothing to lose now tell me what I want to know!" I roared. Maya shrank behind me, scared of the power I had in my voice. The man stepped back and huddled with his fellow monsters, they whispered for a bit in their crushed voices. Debating on what to do. Maya rummaged around in her pack for something.

"They need a tribute, a sacrifice of some sorts. I stole some gold and jewels before we left." She whispered. Then she pulled out a small velvet sack, and emptied it out into her hands, blood rubies spilled out with pearls, gold bits, and silver.

"This should tide them over." She said before putting the items back into the pouch. I took it from her and held it in front of the eye. The Graeae stood up and held their greedy hands out, trying to grasp the treasures I held.

"You don't get this until I get what I came for." I snapped.

"Very well."

"She is powerful Son of Marcus, more than you know."

"She turns mortals to stone."

"She is cursed. You must kill her immediately. But do not look at her."

"No! Do not look her in the eyes Son of Marcus."

"If you do you will become stone. Like the girl."

"She is not all she seems." The man whispered.

"The Grey Ones have seen the Grey Ones know. Your fate has been altered."

"Where is she." I demanded. We knew she was a distance away, but we didn't know what to look for really. It had all been vague.

"Find the forest of the lost."

"The flowers and sorrow will guide you to her domain."

"A cave full of treasures, and a life not fully lived."

"I see something else Son of Marcus. Something bigger than you." Their words cut deep for some reason. A life not fully lived, much like mine, mine was ripped from my hands. Had it been ripped from this monster as well?

"Why did Luna murder my family but not me?" I asked suddenly. The grey man stepped back, as if my question had taken him aback. Their blank faces looked at each other, as if they could really see each other.

"We are not allowed to say. The Gods would smite us." The husk said to me. I pushed the needle back in.

"They were all I had. Now tell me."

"Lies son of Marcus. You have more than you think, there is hope there is always hope."

"She had to leave you, she didn't want your family."

"She mourns their loss. Look into the stars tonight and see how they are remembered."

"There is someone in your future. Someone to help you rise, to take down what is wrong. To right the world alongside you. I see gold, I see blue. A tortured soul who has seen terrors beyond your imagination. The darkness consumes them, but they accept what it is. They seek a better future, one only you can bring." I considered their words for a moment, taking it all in slowly. A tortured soul like mine, someone who has seen more wrongdoing, who could they be talking about?  
"They can't lie. Their curse forbids it." Maya whispered. They were huddled close once again cowering because of their eye in my destructive hands. The velvet pouch grew heavy in my hands, I had gotten what I wanted. But was it worth the harm I had just caused? The pain and torture I had just inflicted, another piece of my soul was gone. I'd be condemned to roam Tartarus for the rest of my undead life. I approached the cowering Grey Family, and handed their eye back to them gently, then the pouch full of riches.

"Thank you." I said softly. Maya began to walk through the clearing in their circle, she was ready to leave just as we had gotten there, I slowly walked to the clearing, only glancing over my shoulder to see them cleaning off their eye, and trying to heal the damage I had done to heart ached seeing them like that, even cursed to be those hideous creatures, they were family. They looked out for each other, something my family had done, and I had just come in and almost broke them and for what? Answers for a mission I didn't want, only to be taken over by my own selfishness. Maya and I walked in silence until the heat and black rock faded into dirt and grass. Trees surrounded us on our path, shading us from the setting sun, shadows danced and played tricks on us as we continued on. Our sandals crunched against the gravel, nowhere seemed good enough to set up camp for the night so we just kept walking. Something rustled in the bushes as we headed towards certain death at the hands of Wanheda, Maya stopped in her tracks.

"Was that a nymph?" She whispered. I shook my head and grabbed the hilt of my sword tightly. We stayed in silence waiting for the sound again, when it didn't occur again, we brushed it off as an animal. A few minutes after walking from that spot, the bushes rustled again, and footsteps quickly shuffled against the dirt.

"Show yourself!" I shouted into the darkness, holding out my sword finally. Maya hid behind me, scared. A woman wearing plain clothes and a burlap himation over her head came out from the bushes, her long brown hair was in many complicated braids and her green eyes seemed to pierce through to your soul.

"You're the hunter that's going after the creature called Wanheda." She said. Something was off about her, something I couldn't place.

"What's to you?" I snapped. She laughed lightly and removed her himation, revealing even more complicated twists in her hair.

"Well I am Lexa."  
"The Goddess?" I asked suspiciously. She pressed her lips together and nodded.

"Kill the Gorgon." She said simply. Maya glanced at her, and tilted her head in confusion. She was deep in thought, considering an option, or forming an opinion. She had a knack for getting all the information she needed by regarding someone even for just a moment. Lexa shifted uncomfortably under Maya's gaze.

"Take this shield, and sword. The Grey Ones told me you needed celestial bronze. Here it is. The monster deserves this." She said darkly. I accepted the weapons cautiously, her eyes were like fire, they burned with anger I had never witnessed in my life. I had seen evil, and sadness, but never this malice in anyone. She was insane.

"Do it. Or she will destroy us all." Lexa said. And with that she was gone. The sounds of the forest surrounded us like at the beginning of our journey, crickets played their song, wolves howled, birds ruffle their feathers, I could hear the creak nearby.

"Let's set up here for now." I said. Maya removed our blankets from the sack and set up our sleeping spots, I started a small fire.

"She's not a Goddess anymore." Maya whispered. Her brow was furrowed as she said it, the fire illuminated her face in oranges and yellows as she tried to piece together what had happened.

"How do you know?" I asked.

"She's lost the royal glow, all Gods and Goddesses have it, even to mortals. It's golden or white usually, but she doesn't have it anymore."

"I wonder...what could've happened."

"Betrayal." Maya whispered. She considered it for just a moment longer, before she decided to lay down on her blanket and go to bed. But I couldn't sleep even if I tried, there was a pit in the bottom of my stomach I couldn't shake, it sat there and festered. There was a quill and blank parchment in the satchel, I scribbled out a note to Maya explaining why I had to run off. Then i grabbed my stuff and ran until I couldn't anymore, the moon was high in the sky, lighting the path just right, almost like a guide to the den. I kept up my speed while walking, I had to reach this monster everyone feared so much. I had to honor Jaspers wishes, and bring this thing to the Graeae. After hours of walking, I bumped into something hard, I had to walk around it, the scent of flowers filled my nose, my mother's favorite stuck out the most as I breathed in the night air. The trees were getting wider, thicker, and hid statues all over. I glanced at one of them, someone paralyzed in fear, a wreath was wrapped around their neck, and in the tree, a name and date was carved by someone. A headstone for the dead, carved and maintained with care, there were no enchantments on the flowers, they were freshly picked and placed. It dawned on me that this must be the forest of sorrow and flowers, looking all around I noticed the countless statues, all with flowers, all with carved names and days. This monster kept records of her victims. Odd. The sun began to peak through the mountains as I headed towards the edge of the large forest, a meadow, wide, full of flowers of all colors, greeted me just as the beautiful pinks and purples of dawn rode through the sky. A mountain, deep blue in the morning light was on the other side, a hole in the side caught my eye, her lair. I sprinted towards it with my shield at the ready, I couldn't look at her directly so I figured if I walk in backwards with my shield using the reflection, it wouldn't have the same effect as looking her in the eyes. As I prepared myself, I heard a light snore coming from inside, she was asleep. Perfect. I walked in backwards, using my shield to navigate myself around items in the cave, a table lay in my way piled high with books, fabrics, and twine. Another table held dried and newly picked flowers, some wreaths both in progress and completed sit by waiting to be placed on their tombs. I glanced at my feet the floor got more cluttered with random things, a book, a shoe, clothes, baskets full of beads, nuts, fruits, even some bread. My stomach growled loudly as I chastised myself for not eating before I ran off. The small sleeping noises grew closer the deeper I headed into her den. It was almost like a normal home, like she was just any regular scholar, tapestries were hung all over like watchtowers, guarding treasures. The sleeping noises were finally coming into view, a girl on a cot was reflected in my shield, her peaceful features were not as grotesque as everyone said, she was a girl. Not more than eighteen, her nose was a little upturned, she had a small beauty mark above her heart shaped lips, her hair was wrapped with a white cloth.

"Why are people so afraid of you?" I whispered to myself. Her eyes shot open and she sat up quickly screaming. Her cloth fell off, revealing hundreds of snakes, all different sizes slithering and hissing at me. So that's why they're scared of her.

"Who are you!?" She yelled angrily.

"Are you Wanheda?" I asked, still looking at her in my shield.

"Depends. Are you here to kill me?"

"What if I was?"

"Then no."  
"If I wasn't?"

"Then my name isn't Wanheda. It's Clarke."

"And what if it was a maybe?"

"Then I'm neither, and welcome to my graveyard. Now answer me. Who are you?" She snapped. Witty.

"My name is Bellamy, I was sent here by King Cage of Mount Weather-"

"I'll turn you and won't think twice. Your men have already tried to kill me one too many times." She glared. She stood up from her bed and walked towards me, her features dyed bronze in my shield.

"I'm not with them, I swear. Jasper told me to bring you to the Graeae. To find a remedy for your curse. Something is happening." I explained quickly. Her arms crossed her chest as she considered my words.

"Ha na ai get klin yu nou na frag ai op?" She asked, frowning.  
"Because, I would've killed you by now." I replied. Her face fell from its frown, it dawned on her I was looking her in the eye, I wondered what color they were, they must be light considering they didn't appear dark in my shield.

"You are the only one who's been smart enough to use my reflection, I'll give you that." She remarked. I shrugged my shoulders because I knew using brute force wouldn't get me anywhere with her, using my brain would right now.

"You said Jasper told you to take me to the Graeae?" She asked, her arms fell from her chest. I nodded slowly. She took a deep breath, grabbed a satchel near her bed, rewrapped her head, and then put a beautifully decorated veil over her face.

"Then let's go."


	10. The Journey Begins

This mortal...he was either incredibly smart or incredibly stupid. I could only see him from his reflection which was bathed in bronze, and the back of his head which was cluttered with dark curls. His face was longer than most men I had seen, his eyes were almost black, if it weren't for his arms holding the shield uo, I couldn't be able to tell what skin his color was, it was dark, but by natural circumstance, and years of sun beating down on him. He had freckles dotting his shoulders. He seemed so different than most, it made me curious to how someone like him was under the Mountain and Jaspers employ. We walked along my meadow, the morning sky was gracing us with its colors, I took a deep breath as we continued to my forest. The scent of flowers filled my nose, my wreaths...all of my work. I stopped in my tracks to look back at the place I was hiding.

"What are you doing?" He asked. I was careful to not turn my head to him.

"Just...saying goodbye." I whispered. He stayed silent with me for the few seconds I took my last look.

"Ok...are you ready?" He asked.  
"Yes." I responded. Our sandals crunched on the dirt path, my statues on display for no one. No one dared wander here unless they were truly desperate for a loved one, or to kill me of course. He was quiet...it was almost peaceful if I wasn't so strange. How did he know where to look? How to look at me without turning to stone? How did he speak to Jasper? The trees seemed to whisper to us as we trotted along the path, the forest got less and less dense as we continued on. I heard someone's footsteps rushing towards us, as did Bellamy. I held a hand to my wrap, prepared to remove it if anyone decided to ambush us, he unsheathed his sword from the holster.

"Bellamy!" A female voice called. More running noises, I closed my eyes and dropped my hand. It was a small girl, pale as the moon, with hair darker than night, it was frizzy from the brain I'd assumed she kept it in. Her dark eyes gazed over me slowly.

"No!" I cried, and turned my head. Hopefully it wasn't too late for her, her eyes had barely met mine, and they were covered by the veil. I dropped to the floor and covered myself. She was an innocent girl, she just wanted to help and I could have condemned her to her demise.

"She's ok, Maya, come face the shield." He said softly, as if he were speaking to a scared child. I glanced up a fraction, he was backing up to me, and reached behind as if to grab my hand. I took his and helped myself up, some tears escaped and flowed slowly down my cheeks.

"I'm sorry. I just…" I whispered. The girl was shaking slightly.

"It's ok, you've probably been through a lot with this curse." The girl said, I think Bellamy said her name was Maya. We walked to their camp in total silence, none of us dared speak to one another. Maya was clearly from the Mountain, her skin was too pale to be a peasant in some village, her clothes were reminiscent of that of a high servant in a palace, and her hair was long rather that short for field work. I took them both in curiously, Bellamy was a hard worker, it was evident in his stance, the color of his skin, the muscles in his arms and legs, yet his presence felt odd. Like he was different from the rest of the mortals I had been near before, something powerful came from him. Maybe from all of the years of work? Maybe he had been through a lot, probably more than I. The hike took quite a while, the birds were silent as they felt a predator in their midst. I think the two took notice of the silence, they kept glancing at each other and then at me in their shield.

"How much longer until we reach your camp?" I asked, Maya almost turned her head to me in response, but stalled before looking back to the shield.

"A few hours, we'll eat and rest for a bit before going back to the Grey Ones." She smiled. A sweet girl had made it out of the mountain, she hadn't lost hope, it was rare of her people to show empathy like this. Kindness in general was rare to me, from the beginning of my life, it was given in fractions. When my father helped Gaia escape Olympus, our family was shunned, ridiculed, and shamed by him. He only did what he felt was right and just. Then came me, the second disgrace to our name. The monster. The girl who had insulted Lexa so badly, she was turned into a creature so foul she turned those who gazed into her eyes to stone. I was feared by many, but not by the girl who had heard the rumors first. Maya was a rare find indeed. As the pale morning grew to a golden afternoon, the sun bore down on my wrapped head and covered face, it was beginning to get too warm under my dressings, sweat beaded on my forehead. My arms felt burnt, and my legs were beginning to feel like they were under water.

"Can we stop here for a while? I don't think I can do much further wrapped the way I am." I asked. Bellamy nodded and scouted out a small canopy we could all sit and rest under.

"We'll just set up here for now, continue on in a few hours. He said, propping the shield up against a tree. Bronze shields weren't always the best in battle, the metal was not strong enough unless backed up with something else. Bronze was only good when killing creatures...I wonder how he came upon such a shield. They built a fire, Bellamy left to go hunt for some food while Maya searched for roots and berries that graced the forest's edge, there seemed to be plenty near our rest spot. I could hear Bellamy rustling in the bushes trying to be sneaky.

"Yu baga gon Leksa ou na?" Maya asked in Trigedasleng. I shrugged my shoulders in response, until I realized she wasn't looking at me.

"Ai fig raun ai laik." I said softly. Maya's dark curls bounced as she nodded her head.

"Chomouda?"

"Ai din hod em in. Leksa ste pis hashta de." Maya laughed.

"She was never my favorite _hayon_ , she's never done anything remarkable besides cause friction in Olympus. Jasper would tell me all of the time." Her words hit me hard. The friction was caused because of her unnatural obsession with ruining her handmaidens lives. Mine included. But something was off, Maya had asked such a forward question about Lexa...one that was only rumored. I had been punished by her because of some infraction I had committed. Not because she had hated me.

"How did...how did you know she hates me Maya?" I asked, standing up slowly, preparing myself to run. They weren't here to help me, they were sent by her to kill me. To cut my head and send it to the Mountain Men.

"Clarke?" I glanced at the shield Bellamy had left behind, the bronze one that he had used to look at me. It had an owl on it, and an olive branch embroidered to the leather arm strap. Lexa's creations. The sword was missing.

"Stay away from me." I hissed, the venom filled my mouth as my fangs ripped through my gums. Maya straightened her back, she was scared. The scent of carnations filled the air, not from my garden...we were too far from it. It was her fear radiating off of her, somehow I could smell it.

"You two are liars." Scales began forming, the claws were out before I could will them back. My skin was slick with poison. I began stalking towards her, circling her like she was prey. Because I was the predator. The heaviness I always felt in my chest only grew, it stung as it got heavier with each step I took near Maya.

"Clarke...we haven't lied to you." Maya whimpered. Her eyes looked at the ground below as I focused on her.

"Give me one reason to believe you. You have her weapons. You both are working for her, she wants me dead." I snarled. Maya began crying softly. I reached out and flicked one of her curls with my claw.

"I promise we aren't here for her. We want to help." She whispered. Rustling behind me, made me pause for just a moment. Bellamy was close by, I could sense him and his anxiety. His pheromones smelt of Hyacinth flowers. He stalked me while staying concealed behind the shrubs and trees.

"Leave her alone Wanheda." He growled. How dare he use that cursed name!

"Do not call me that." I hissed.

"Do you think for one second we would try and lie to you, you could kill us with one look. But if you do that...none of us will be free."

"Why do you have weapons from Lexa." I demanded.

"Retract the claws and we can talk calmly." I felt the anger and anxiety evaporate, the claws went back into my nail beds, scales slithered back under my skin, and the poison retracted itself. I kept my guard up as he walked around not looking at me, he picked his shield up and walked backwards, Maya stood and rushed to his side.

"Chil au. Emo nou na frag yu op." He whispered into her ear. At that moment I felt awful for what I had done, the monster came out again, and I had zero control over it. This girl who had already seen her fair share of trauma and death and I...I threatened her life. I toyed with her fear because the monster inside of me enjoyed it.

"I'm...I'm so sorry." I whispered. My eyes burned with tears I was holding back.

"It's ok Clarke. You were scared and lashed out. I know a thing or two about that." She said, glancing at Bellamy.

"She gave these to us and told us to kill you. I accepted the weapons because I thought we could use them should we come upon a monster. I'm on Jaspers side. I'm on your side." Bellamy said.

"But you're on your own side." I said softly. Looking at the ground, the dirt was dark and coarse, my feet were worn down and dirtied from travel. As were theirs. They'd traveled for days to get to me, and were going to travel far longer to help me.

"We just want our freedom. And I know you do too Clarke." Finally, I met his gaze, something in it was so sincere it make the heaviness in my chest lift for just a moment.


	11. The Visit

**A quick shout out to Dunno12345 for being the best person ever! She's been my beta tester for every chapter and has given me support and ideas throughout this! She also is an insane writer and has some of the most realistic and AMAZING fics ever! 3 check her out when you can! I can't thank her enough for helping me out with my fics :)**

Seeing Clarke turn into that venomous creature of nightmares was something else to behold. The way her claws slowly grew, her skin glistened with something clear and noxious, scaled formed like burns on her skin, it all looked so painful to me. The bronze image of Clarke was sitting against a tree later that night, staring blankly into space, it was like she was reliving the trauma of her past, including this afternoon. We hadn't gone any further since her outburst, I was surprised I had been able to bring her back to reality so quickly. Her anger seemed to spew toxic gas, but yet, nothing died. Nothing perished despite the pure rage boiling from within her. She had been shaking non-stop since the incident, she warned us not to touch her until she could safely wash off all of what she called venom.

"You're staring at her." Maya whispered to me. I shrugged and kept staring at her in the shield, she was a strange person.

"How are you holding up?" I asked her. She shrugged and gave me a lopsided smile, turning her back to me she lay down on her small, woven blanket. Of course she had been shaken up, luckily for here she didn't get a good look at Wanheda. Snakes let out soft hissing, and slipped through her headdress, nipping at her cheek. She brushed them off as if they were stray hairs, which in her case, they were. Strange patterns danced over their heads and backs, yellows, whites, browns, and reds, all poisonous, all deadly, but strangely enough, they were protective of their owner. In the few hours we had seen them, they only snapped at us, not Clarke.

"They're like my children when you think about it, annoying, but they love me. I've grown used to carrying their weight." Clarked said suddenly. I jumped as I hadn't noticed her staring back at me in the shield.

"We should leave this camp tonight." She said. Maya began packing up, even though she was just beginning to fall asleep.

"She's right, we can get to the Graeae by dawn, it'll be safer for Clarke anyways." Maya said. I nodded and began to pull my knapsack over my shoulder. The snakes on her head began to stir, getting anxious with every movement we made. She hushed them and stood up, adjusting her wrap, tucking them all back in.

"Your wrap is lovely." Maya smiled. I nudged her with my elbow and chuckled lightly. It must be nice to have another girl around for her, but deep inside, my heart yearned to see my sister smile like that. To fawn over something so simple as a beautifully detailed wrap, or himation. Octavia's blue eyes would shine light the stars in the sky on a still night at sea. She would bounce on her heels, excited to see their reaction, she would prepare to ask how and why and could they teach her their tricks. She would have been an amazing seamstress like mother was, and an even better huntress. Heaviness weighed down as I remembered her.

"Thank you...I made it myself." Clarke said softly, the smile was evident in her surprised tone.

"Did you make the beads too?" I asked. Looking at her in the shield, her eyes held so many questions, but she nodded.

"I heated stones up and molded them by hand, and pierced them with a small needle. The polishing took longer than the creation."

"How are your hands not completely pink and burnt?" She asked incredulously.

"The curse has its moments of being nice. I feel the pain from whatever is being done, however, it never makes itself visible on me." She explained.

"So...if you die what happens?" Maya asked. Clarked gave her a look of confusion.

"Lets hope I never find out." She said simply. Maya blushed furiously and shoved her blanket back into the bag. Grabbing a handful of dirt, I began putting the fire out, the subtle orange light dimmed quickly and the dark began to cradle us. We began crunching our way through the darkness and trees, the world fell silent each step we took.

"I miss the sounds of nature, owls, crickets, the howling wolves. You never know just how beautiful it really is until it fears you." Clarke whispered. We continued on the worn path for what felt like hours, running from wherever we were last time felt so much faster, I wondered how Maya was able to run even halfway. Or how fast I had been going. As we walked, I thought about my family more, Octavia's eyes still haunted my mind, the look on her face as she realized trying to free herself of the wreck was useless. The pure and utter anguish she must have felt, her fear. I wondered if that's how Clarke felt when she was cursed, to think her future was gone, her life ruined in an instant and by the hand of a selfish, maniacal Goddess.

"Tell us more about yourself, I mean you weren't always this...um...creature." Maya said. I could hear her sigh softly, as if preparing herself to tell her story.

"My family was shunned even before I turned into this, my father was the one who replaced Atlas."

"Your father is Jake Griffin?" Maya gasped.

"Yes he is. After he was punished for helping Gaia, my mom got sick, so I prayed for help and Lexa blessed her in return for a lifetime of servitude. I was one of her handmaidens."

"Oh my...have you seen either one of your parents since?" She whispered.

"No." Clarke's voice was tight as if fighting tears. She'd lost her family to the Gods as well. I could sense her anxiety of not knowing what's become of them, it was the same as mine was as the ship sank.

"The temple wasn't so bad, the classes for healers were boring, I was top student from the time I got there to the time this happened. We all loved her to the fullest extent our hearts would let us. Though, I was her favorite always." She explained. I could tell where this was going, her temple was more of a cult it seemed, luring in young women to serve and stay silent. To allow their patron Goddess to do whatever the hell they want. Regardless of the consequences any mortal would have faced.

"Did she court you?" I asked suspiciously.

"She did. She was successful for a time...before I snapped myself out of it...before I met Finn."

"As in the God of Love?" Maya gasped.

"The one and only. He tricked me, snuck into the temple and tried to...well…"

"That...that... _joka._ " I swore. The nerve of these selfish, moronic Gods. Treating us as if we were completely insignificant, as if their very lives didn't depend on our worship and offerings. I now understood why those men in my hometown rebelled against them, knocking down statues and burning false offerings. Making sure their point was getting across that we wouldn't take the abuse any longer. I felt rage growing in the pit of my stomach, only making the ache in my chest hurt even worse. Two families destroyed not once but twice.

"You know what happened next." She said simply. It disturbed me to how resigned she was to all of this, as if it were what she deserved. And she didn't, she was a smart girl with a future that was ripped from her...like Octavia. No one said a word after that, we kept going in silence, her snakes would hiss every now and then, it became a soothing sound which made me nervous. If I got used to it and didn't see one on the ground, assuming it was her, I would be in big trouble. The scent of rotting eggs filled the air, we were close to the Grey Ones yet again, Clarke began to wring her hands, nervous of what would come from this visit. I took large strides, almost like exerting my dominance over these hags once more.

"Stop fidgeting. They'll see it as weakness." I snapped at her. Clarke huffed, but stopped. The heat was getting to be unbearable again as we stepped onto the dark stone, alerting me that we were there. Back in their domain and in record time.

"We're here, they're a few paces away, straighten your back and go into their lair with you head held high. Take this." I said. I reached into the satchel and held it behind, pressing a dagger into Clarke's hand. Her bronze reflection looked at it confused for a moment.

"Do you know how to use it?" I asked. She shook her head. By the Gods...of course they hadn't taught combat in her temple. They kept them weak, like cows to the slaughter. Their patron left them vulnerable in this dangerous world where almost anything could happen to them in an instant. They'd be forced into slavery or murdered should their homes be taken over by some invader. If the Mountain got to them...I couldn't even think about what would happen.

"Ok...ok. Keep your attacks at or below shoulder height, slash don't stab, and make sure your wrist is never locked. Don't let your guard down, and if something goes bad, you get to Jasper as fast as you can." I whispered to her, frustrated I couldn't just turn around and show her. Her yellowed eyes went wide as she nodded, and held the dagger behind her back. Maya stared into the shield, with a worried expression on her face.

"Will she really need that?" She asked, clutching her own knife. I nodded and moved us forward to the raised, darkened rocks. I could hear them whispering prophecies and warnings as we approached them once more. Maya shivered before we stepped into their domain.

"Ahh they return."

"Yes the big hero returns."

"Son of Marcus. You've brought the Gorgon."

"Yes the Gorgon."

"She's all covered. Our dear let your hair down. Let us see what monstrosity you are." I held the shield up to their shared eyes level and looked at her in the mirror, I nodded my head while she shook hers. As they kept whispering to her to remove her wrap, she closed her eyes, opening them only once she reached for the fabric and unraveled it. Lowering the shield,

"Ok. Now. Tell us what we need to know. How do we break her curse."

"Only you Son of Marcus."

"Yes, yes only you."

"How." I barked. Maya leaned closer, trying to make herself seem smaller, shrinking behind the shield.

"Let us see her."  
"We must see her."

"Clarke."

"Wanheda."

"Don't call me that!" She hissed. Her rage was radiating off of her, I was scared she'd turn into that beast again, knowing that they could turn her against us somehow. They pushed Maya and I aside, taking the shield with them and circled her. Sniffing her and investigating with their eye, still recovering from the last visit. One of them touched her hair...snakes...and they hissed at the Graeae, a few of them tried to bite their fingers as they felt around.

"Such lovely venom."

"So much power."

"Such a shame."

"Yes, a shame."

"This curse is strong."

"Well how do I break it." Clarke demanded. They all cackled loudly to mock her. The hissing only got louder from behind me, she was getting angry, and fast.

"You cannot."

"You are doomed."

"Do you want a repeat of last time you hags?" I snarled. They all gasped loudly then began to cackle again. They weren't afraid of me this time for some reason, it was as if they couldn't remember me torturing them. Like I hadn't stabbed their eye with a pin to get information out of them. Their words still rattled in my brain, repeating over and over,

"You cannot harm us this time Son of Marcus."

"Break the heart of stone."

"Your heart Clarke."

"You have such a rich past." They started in on her like they had done to us.

"Shunned because your father is a traitor."  
"Shunned because your mother was educated."  
"Shunned for being Lexa's plaything."

"Stop it." Clarke whispered.

"She loved you. You loved her."  
"I did what I had to do to…"  
"Gain favor and leave her temple."

"How was it with the Goddess little Clarke."

"Did she sneak into your quarters?"  
"Or did you invite her?"

"She enjoyed it. Clarke enjoyed it." They all hissed at her as they lay her past out nice and clear for us. She had laid with the Goddess Lexa. I felt pain in my stomach as I thought of it. But why? Why had she done that, when Lexa had taken so much from her before that.

"I thought I loved her." Clarke answered, it was like she could read my every thought.

"Yet she loves you still." They snickered.

"Better than loving the dead."

"Isn't that right Bellamy?" They all turned and began walking towards me, Maya moved aside as they surrounded me, still holding my shield in their gnarled hands. Their skin looked as if it had melted off even further, aging them another thousand years. The eye was dull and milky, as if infection had seeped into in. One of them coughed and hacked loudly. They were dying.

"You love your family."  
"That family no longer exists."  
"Drowned, at the hand of Luna." They started in. I balled my fist tightly, trying to not let them get to me.

"How did it feel."

"To watch your sister die."

"To see the light go out of her eyes."

"See their faces Bellamy." The whispered. I closed my eyes tightly, and covered my ears, I wanted to scream. To kill them. But something was holding me back, some kind of strange magic wouldn't allow me. I heard their steps move, taking something with them, their harsh whispers continued to invade my head, forcing me to relive the worst day of my life again, experiencing the torture in Mount Weather, watching Gina die. It all came flooding back to me. I let out a sob as the pictures kept coming, the pain filled my body. I fell onto the ground and writhed in pain. It felt like every fiber of my being was on fire

"Stop it!" Clarke cried. It sounded like she was underwater. I tried to open my eyes, but when I did, everything was blurred, fuzzy. Maya was nowhere to be seen, had she run off? When I lifted my head, it was forced back down.

"No stop! Please!" Maya cried. I struggled to move, I couldn't speak, when I tried, more pain filled my body.

"Quiet." They all said at once. I heard scuffling through the fog, then screaming from Clarke and Maya, then silence.

"None of you are innocent."

"She was not."  
"No one in this world is innocent." The Grey Ones said together. There was a flash of orange light from the fire from what I could manage. Then they were gone, my vision cleared up, the pain subsided, and I stood up.

"Clarke? Maya? Are you ok?" I asked shakily, careful not to turn around. I heard Clark take in a deep shuddering breath, then she let out a heart wrenching scream. I turned around to see her huddled on the ground with her head down, knees pulled to her chest, and arms hugging herself. And then there was Maya. Frozen in time. She was turned to stone.


	12. The Forgiven

The voices still filled my head telling me that I would never be free. The Graeae had whispered to me that the only way to break this curse was to destroy myself. To break my heart. But it was already so broken, it felt as if there was nothing left there, the heaviness just stayed all of the time. The stone heart...my heart...it was all so confusing. There was the world already on my shoulders, being responsible for so many lives perishing at my own hand. My gaze. They'd whispered into my brain until I felt like I was going mad, they tried to make me angry to let the fullest extent of my power out so they could drain me to save themselves. Treacherous demons. When they'd failed, they grabbed Maya after filling her head with images of her father and mother. I could see them because they'd made me feel them. Her heartbreak. Her pain. Her struggles under the Mountain. How she'd sold out another servant to save her skin, her own guilt filled me, how her mother had defected and tried to take her with her. Murdered in front of her own eyes. A gem filled the wall by their door. Her love for Jasper, how much she wished she could run off to be with him, but her status as a mortal forbade it. He could only do so much for her, he guided her through the worst of it. The Graeae forced her over to me, when I turned my head down and forced my eyes down, they used magic for forced them open. Her screams filled the world, piercing all the way down to the Underworld. They forced me to feel her turning to stone. The warmth of it started in your stomach, then spread until it felt as if your skin was scorching itself, heating until it hardened, cracked, and eventually it felt like deep, unsettling nothingness. They were still conscious while they were stone, she was so scared. There wasn't a cure for this ailment. Not even one for me. Maya's fear penetrated into the far corners of my mind. It would stay there. I did this to my friend. But was it my fault? Yes. If I hadn't been so stupid to trust Lexa...to trust Finn. None of this would have happened to anyone. Bellamy wouldn't have lost his family if I hadn't begged for her help, because Luna wouldn't have been angered with Lexa. Would Maya be in the Mountain? I don't know. I screamed until my throat felt raw, letting the anger, the guilt, the hopelessness out into the air.

"Clarke?" Bellamy croaked. He lay on the hard ground, near the ashes of the Graeae, their last resort was me. And that hadn't happened so they crumbled into dirt. I tried to avoid his gaze, so I curled up into myself and began sobbing, knowing what I had done. She was so sweet, and didn't deserve what was happening to her. To be conscious, to feel the nothingness, it would drive anyone crazy like it was driving me. Knowing she could feel it, and I couldn't do anything for her.

"Maya...what did you do?" Clarke what did you do!?" He screamed. I continued sobbing, getting louder as it all happened. He was examining his friend.

"They made me do it they made me. I'm so sorry." I cried. I held myself tighter, making sure my head was still down. I could hear him grab his shield, the metal scraped loudly against the rock, his sword made a distinct scrape as he unsheathed it. He might actually do what the Mountain was asking of him. Taking my head and delivering it.

"How could you do this!?" He yelled. I kept my head down.

"I didn't want to. You have to know that."  
"Can we...is there a way to…" He started. His words were constrained...probably holding back tears.

"They made me do it." I whispered.

"Can we get her back?" He asked quietly. I stole a look, he wasn't facing me, he was holding the arm of Maya's statue.

"I don't know." I responded. I tried to stand up, but my legs wouldn't let me. They felt like boulders holding me down. Everything was just so heavy...the pain in my chest just grew and grew until it pained me all over.

"I can't do this...I'm so sorry." I told him. I got up, wrapped my hair back up, and turned away from him. I couldn't risk his life too, maybe if I turned myself in to Mount Weather this would all end quickly. He could go and be free, while I atoned for what I had done.

"What are you saying?" He asked, his voice cracked again.

"I'm saying...go away. Leave before this happens to you too. Go be free, I'll go to Cage Wallace myself." I said. Metal clanged against the rock, he was dropping his weapons in defeat. A second had passed before he lifted his shield and moved in front to face me, a breeze blew in that smelled of plums and pine trees.

"I see they double crossed us. Worthless hags." Jasper said bitterly. I turned around to face the once jovial God who now spoke with disdain and hatred in his voice. Tears flowed freely down my cheeks as I mourned with him. She hadn't deserved this...she was an innocent girl despite the things she had to do to survive. Who we are and who we needed to be were different things. She was an intelligent and witty girl, who cared deeply and felt with everything. She was kind to me even after I had threatened her life in my moment of rage.

"Jasper…" I started. He held up a thin hand to silence me. I knew better than to interrupt him.

"I forgive you. It was them." He said motioning to the remains.

"They swore to me they wouldn't hurt you all, they never said they wouldn't hurt me." He said softly, he caressed Maya's grey cheek, looking at her with every fiber of love he could give.

"They paid the price. Did they tell you anything?" He asked.

"They tortured me." Bellamy said from behind.

"They tortured Clarke as well." Jasper said. His gaze was apologetic.

"I didn't get much out of them...just whispers of breaking a stone heart. They said I had to destroy myself to save myself." I mumbled, looking at the ground. Jasper seemed to consider this for a moment before going over to Bellamy.

"This is going to haunt both of you, if you continue I fear you won't be ok after. Please consider this carefully. I'm going to consult Raven with the little information the Graeae provided Clarke."

"I'm not giving up. I want to take the Mountain down, and I want to avenge my family." Bellamy said determined. The confidence that exuded him was all false, I could sense he was deeply hurt by what had just happened. Another family destroyed. Another mark on his soul. On mine.

"Clarke?" Jasper asked. I shook my head furiously.

"I can't endanger his life anymore than I already have. Just travelling near me puts him at risk." I said.

"Clarke I need you."  
"If I hadn't...if I hadn't fallen for...tricked by Finn...this wouldn't have happened." I wept.

"If Luna hadn't sunk my family's boat...I wouldn't have met Maya, and be forced on this mission."  
"If I hadn't been cursed."

"Maya would still be in Mount Weather you two. She would have perished as a slave to Cage Wallace." Bellamy looked at my reflection in the shield, hurt beyond words like me. Frown lines crossed his forehead, a deep V formed between his thick brows, his eyes told a story of pain and suffering. I didn't bother looking at myself, shame flooded through me.

"Ok...ok I'll go." I whispered. They both breathed a sigh of relief as I said those words.  
"I'm moving her statue to Olympus. We'll all work on getting her back...if we can." Jasper said. We both nodded.

"You need to get to Mount Weather, and burn it to the ground." Bellamy and I nodded, there was a serious look on his face, determination, confidence, arrogance even. He was going to take them for all they had, and I wanted a part in that. With a small, fragrant breeze, Jasper was gone, as was Maya's statue. Our faces fell, his from determined to broken.

"It wasn't your fault." He whispered. I felt a tear slip down my cheek again.

"It wasn't you Clarke, it was them." He said, motioning to the ashes. His words sat with me as I thought about what it felt to be stone. The burning, the heaviness, the agonizing stillness. Then I heard the whispers in my head, their withered hands under my chin, holding my arms...the way Maya looked at them with fear as they forced her forward, how she stared at me with a serene look in her eyes as if to tell me it was ok. That she forgave me already. Then I thought of Bellamy, and how he blamed himself for his family dying because he couldn't save them from the wreck. His guilt hung around his neck, strangling him. If Maya could forgive me...then they have forgiven him.

"It wasn't your fault either." I breathed. His face contorted into confusion, and then realized what I meant.

"Clarke…"  
"They were trapped, had you tried to free them you would have drowned too."

"It's not that simple."

"It is. Luna did this. Lexa did this. Their pettiness, their anger towards one another is what did this. They forced us into this situation." I looked at his reflection, his eyes drifted to the ground, but they looked back at me, tears in his eyes. I gave him a small smile. It was quiet for a long time.

"You're right." He said finally. I motioned to the path, he grabbed his pack, I grabbed what used to be Maya's and mine and we headed out. We were slow, we stayed quiet, but we wouldn't give up so soon. Mount Weather was a few days away, we had to plan our attack strategy, we had to be smart. But most importantly, we had to finish this. If not for us, but for Maya. For all of those claimed by the Mountain, by my curse. We had to avenge them all.

"I think we're going to go by the place where the sky is held up." Bellamy said suddenly. My heart raced as I thought about my father, how he would react when he saw me for the first time in years. Would he be proud or ashamed? Like my mother probably was. His back probably ached, his hands blistered from the strain of the sky, his skin would be like leather from all of the days in the sun, every single day for the last...decade he was in horrible, agonizing pain.

"I could help him." I blurted. Bellamy smiled in the shield.

"We can help him." He said. I grinned and began to unwrap my snakes, the cloth was making my head hot and suffocated my little friends. An unfamiliar fruity scent mixed with cinnamon filled the air, the same scent I sometimes smelled with Raven around...she was watching over us, trying to make things right.

 _I tried to get to you but, I couldn't. I have to protect my temples from destruction, there's unrest in the city. Rockburn is under siege. The king committed some kind of atrocity and has to be stopped._

Raven's voice filled my head. It set off a nerve inside of me, telling me her problem. I wanted to help. Something was pulling me to her, to the city under siege.

"Bellamy, Raven needs our help in Rockburn." I said.

"That's so far from where we have to go." He argued.

"I know, but we need to go there. She wouldn't have told me unless she needed the help. Trust me Bellamy. We need to go." I said sternly. I saw his adams apple jerk up and down as he considered the opportunity. Slowly, he nodded ok, and earned a smile in return.

"How much longer would it take to get back to Mount Weather from there?" I asked.

"It'll add an extra 3 days to our journey. But if she's an ally, it should be worth the detour." He responded. I nodded and looked up, feeling grateful for his company, and his willingness to change the plan as we went along. I silently prayed to Raven, letting her know we were coming to assist her, I received a warm breeze in return, and put my veil on instead of wrapping my snakes back up. They coiled and stretched out, flicking their tongues to smell the fresh air and bathed in the late sun.


	13. The Kraken

Traveling to Rockburn proved its challenge, the deeper we got into the forest, and the closer we became to our destination, the more dangerous it seemed. Bounty hunters were searching for not only Clarke, but me as well. Now known as her accomplice thanks to Cage Wallace and his many spies. She stood tall though, she didn't back down when someone came too close for comfort, I forced them away so she wouldn't have to use her power on them. To spare at least a fraction of her soul. Our hearts were still heavy, we talked about Maya a lot. She hadn't known her long but she had been fond of her for the short time they had with one another. Clarke admired her willingness to forgive. To forget. Her ability to move forward despite all that life had thrown at her. It gave Clarke hope, which in turn gave me some as well. We talked about everything, I told her about training with the guard at my home, I mentioned my mother and how she was one of the most talented seamstresses in the land, and how my father was a fisherman, she looked at me funny when I told her that both of my parents were mortal.

"But I thought…they called you Son of Marcus." She said confused. I nodded and bit back on my jaw.

"I may be a half-blood. But I don't know him. He wasn't there for me my whole life, my father was." I replied. I stared at the back of her head as she nodded slowly.

"Don't you want to know him?" She asked.

"Honestly? I don't care. I didn't ask to be his son."

"I'm surprised no monsters have attacked us yet, your glow kind of gives you away."

"What glow? And maybe it's because I'm traveling with a monster. They all probably think you're dragging my corpse with you." I teased. Clarke chuckled lightly.

"You could be correct. Ok all I'm saying is, if you get the chance, I want you to meet him...set him straight. Show him that abandoning you and your mother was wrong."

"But it wasn't...my mother found love. She made a home. She had my sister…" I trailed.

"I would have liked to meet Octavia. What was she like?" She asked. I smiled widely as I told her about all of our adventures. How we used to play pirates when we were young, how her first word was Ba-Ba, meaning me, and how she was an expert fighter. Her spirit shone so brightly it would burn your eyes, her ferocity was palpable, and she never, ever backed down without a fight...which is why watching her give up...watching her die right before my eyes was the hardest part. The smile was wiped clean from my face...leaving me with nothing but sorrow.

"Bellamy…" She began, she stopped herself short, deciding to change the subject from my pain to hers. She told me about healing, how she loved to do it, it made her feel like she could truly make a difference in someone's life. Her father was a writer, and inventor, she giggled as she called him a cracked pot. How when everyone shunned them after he helped Gaia escape, she was still proud of him because he did the right thing, but couldn't help but wish it was her being forced to hold the sky. I admired her perseverance, so many would have just given up on life after all she'd been through. The trip was nearing its end finally, we had walked straight through, not stopping for anything except for the occasional stream to refill our canteens and eat what little food we had left. Suffice it to say, we were both exhausted. And I was afraid we wouldn't be able to help Raven the way she wanted.

"We should be approaching the entrance to Rockburn soon, Raven said it was under siege. Something about a threat made to the King." She panted. We climbed a long hill to see smoke, and minimal flames, we heard chanting, low and threatening coming from the land below. The only untouched buildings were dark brown, with hints of emerald and bronze. Raven's temples.

"You still have that dagger right?" I asked.

"I do." She answered. She'd made a small sheath using part of her chiton, and using some of the leather straps from her sandals to form a belt for it. Clever girl she was. We slowly headed down the hill towards the unknown city, she was wringing her hands again. I noticed more and more when she did that, it was always when she was nervous, starting slow by drumming her fingers, then she massaged them. Cracking her knuckles occasionally. The closer we got, the more dilapidated the town looked, it was as if the town had risen up in fear of something and attacked. Like wild animals.

"Clarke you should wrap your head. We can't risk the locals seeing your um…"  
"My snakes?" She half laughed.

"Yeah, those." I said gruffly. She nodded and began to wrap her himation over the writhing little beasts, adding her veil over her face as well, but then removing it after a moment.

"Bellamy I want to wrap something over my eyes, the veil isn't completely effective." She said quietly.

"I'll guide you." I said quickly. Slowly, she ripped another piece of her dress off, shortening it to just below her knees. As she wrapped it around her eyes, her hands shook, it was as if she couldn't trust herself to do this. Once her eyes were covered, she lowered the veil again for extra protection. I moved next to her, looping my arm through hers, the other hand held the shield just in case. Our packs bumped into each other and we took our first steps into the town, hers small and hesitant as if she couldn't trust that I would steer her in the right direction.

"Clarke, we have to get to Raven." I mumbled.

"I know, just...I know." She stumbled. Her small hand gripped my forearm, I could feel her anxiety, her fear.

"Ok, let's begin." I whispered, people were sneaking peeks out of their windows to see their new guests. We began, not bumping into each other, but in perfect sync. One right after the other until we reached a blockade of commoners, all gaunt with hunger, some with dark circles as if they'd been up for days, but all of them held some form of weapon in their hand. They glared at Clarke and I as we approached, her grip had gotten looser with every step, but it tightened once more as I began to slow down and eventually stop.

"What's happening." She whispered. I looked at each of their faces, I wasn't scared for myself, but only for Clarke who was blinded to this.

"Nothing, just stay here." I replied. She refused to let my arm go. I tried to shrug her off but her grip just got tighter.

"Don't leave me on my own." She begged.

"Trust me, Clarke. I'll only be a few steps ahead. I promise." I said. It was a habit of mine to not look at her face unless it was reflected in bronze. But I took a risk, and beheld it. Her heart shaped lips were pressed into a thin line, a small beauty mark was on the upper corner of her lip, her cheeks were slightly burnt from the sun, giving her a few extra freckles. How were people scared of her? She was just a girl, she was too young to be frightening despite her powers. Without the snakes, I think she'd have long dark hair, always in some sort of complicated braid, one that Octavia could do for her. Up close like this, you couldn't tell she was a monster.

"Ok...be quick though." She said after a minute. I squeezed her hand before I drew my sword out and approached the mob.

"Who are you?" One of them demanded.  
"I'm Bellamy. And we just want to pass safely. We're here for the Goddess Raven."

"Who is she?" They demanded.

"She's no threat, she's blind. We hoped Raven could devise something to help her affliction." I lied. It must've sounded convincing because murmuring began spreading through the crowd. They all glanced at my weapon, then at Clarke, I puffed my chest out and gripped the sword tighter as their looks turned devious.

"Why is her hair wrapped up?" Another asked, raising his spear towards her.

"Does it matter? Why bother asking?" I snapped, moving in front of her direction, raising the sword. They shrunk back as they realized I was getting through whether they wanted me to or not, a wise choice considering I'd kill one of them before they had the chance to capture Clarke.

"Let them through." A deep, feminine voice demanded. We all looked up and saw her; her caramel skin glowed gold, dressed in a flowing green chiton, with a leather girdle over top, her mechanical leg clanked on the bronze roof, groaning and cranking loudly. The people bowed almost instantly and began praying. I smelled oil and cinnamon, and began thinking rationally, grabbing Clarke quickly and rushing her to the steps of the temple, her sandals hit the ground loudly, I could hear her breath picking up as she panicked, but the mob didn't even look up. Raven stared down at us for a moment, her dark eyes meeting mine, then she turned on her heel, presumably going down into the main entrance. Clarke gripped my upper arm with both hands, practically digging her nails into it as we opened the doors and filed in. She yelped as I threw the shield down and forced her arm off to shut the door.

"Bellamy...what's going on." She whimpered. I turned and looked at her in the middle of the pristine white interior of the temple, we were both dirtied up from traveling and completely out of place. I approached Clarke and moved her viel up, touching her cheek which was now wet with sweat, maybe even tears.

"Hey now…" I murmured. She let out a shuddering breath, confirming the tears.

"We're safe. We're in her temple." I said, brushing some cold sweat off of her brow, I smiled at her even though she couldn't see it. As she began to calm down, she smiled as well, baring her teeth widely as she realized we were truly safe in her friend's temple. The fear was dissipating, but the chaos outside would resume once their trance was broken, what had made them so angry? What could have caused all of the unrest going on? So much that Raven required our help?

"You're here." Raven said, climbing down a ladder, Clarke whipped her head in her direction and smiled.

"Yes!" She smiled.

"Once you told Clarke, she said we needed to help you. So here we are." I responded. Raven grinned, her eyes were bright and excited, and she pulled Clarke into a big hug. But she faltered once she saw how Clarke was blindfolded, and then looked at me slowly. She pulled away and glared at me.

"Who are you?" She snapped. I rolled my eyes.

"Raven he's ok. He's been helping me." Clarke said quickly.

"How do you know him?"

"I was sent by Cage Wallace to kill her. But I don't want to do that, Jasper told me to bring her to the Graeae, they betrayed us." I explained.

"Clarke, he could be a spy sent from Mount Weather, he could be trying to trick you, he could-"

"I trust him." Clarke cut her off sharply. Raven took a step back as if she'd been slapped. As if the notion of me helping someone like her was impossible. Like I would kill her in an instant. Earlier, had Jasper never met me in that small village, I might've. But now...now it was different. I wanted to protect Clarke from the evils the world held. I didn't want to sell her out to Cage, I wanted to bring him down, and I knew she did too. She just wanted to be free. Like me.

"I'm on her side, Raven." I said, looking dead in her eyes. She relented and grasped Clarke once more.

"I'm happy you're here, I could use your help with a small issue the town has." She started, holding Clarke's arm, she walked her through the massive halls and to a small studio room. Treasures of emerald and celestial bronze sat upon shelves, a bright fire complete with red coals was roaring in a forge, a pile of gears both new and rusted lay in a heap on a giant wooden desk that had gold filled cracks, the walls had plans and blueprints tacked up portraying the most inventive and the craziest ideas, her mechanical genius was all abound, from little tinker toys, to full on automatons sitting on chairs built from scrap metal. Raven's workshop was truly a prize to behold. She deserved more credit than she was given, most saw her as a lovely face with an unfortunate disability, but I could see the exact blueprint she used complete with calculations written in her hand, and replacement parts for her mechanical leg close to her desk, her dearest invention. Her mind was beyond what anyone could expect and this workshop was proof of that.

"There's been unrest because that idiot King Jaha said his son was more beautiful than Finn himself. So what does Finn do? He's an even bigger idiot and threatens the whole town with famine and that ridiculous sea monster of Luna's to come kill them all unless he sacrifices the kid." Raven ranted. She paced around for a bit before settling down at her desk, banging on some contraption with a hammer. But she gave up after a bit and put her head in her hands frustrated. Their falling out was still fresh, she was clearly not over it just yet.

"I need you two to go in and save the kid." She said finally.

"Us? Why?" I asked.

"Because." She said, lifting her head up. "I can't."

"Finn would...throw a fit to say the least if Raven stepped in. It's probably why he chose the Kign of Rockburn to threaten instead of that one guy in Troy. ." Clarke explained. Finn...I should have known he'd be causing more trouble for Raven, especially from what Clarke has said about them splitting up because of her incident. Another God...perfectly selfish...ruining lives just because they were bitter and petty because of something they could not completely control. It was pathetic.

"Where is he now?" I asked.

"He's chained to a rock about a mile away from the shore. The monster isn't due for another day but seeing you here...Finn might escalate and make the thing come faster." She mumbled. I turned to Clarke, she was already turned towards me, even blindfolded I could tell what she was thinking.

"We leave now we can protect the prince." She said excitedly. A chance to be the hero instead of the villain, that alone made everything worth it.

"Let's be good guys." I smiled. Raven looked between us and got a funny look on her face.

"I'll keep the people busy, give you the chance to get out there. I have a small boat at the dock already there, pull the cord it'll guide you there." We both nodded, I took Clarke's hand in mine, and headed out. Everyone wasn't bowed down to the Goddess anymore, they were busy fighting each other. Punching, kicking, screaming, it was all out war. I tightened my grip on her and began to pick up the pace, we were nearly running as we wove our way through the riot. As the crowd began to dissipate we slowed a bit, our breathing ragged, and our energy was completely gone. The docks were still a distance away from us, but I could see them, still unscathed by the violence of their ruined city.

"We're nearly there." I panted. She pushed me forward, causing me to almost trip on the cobblestone ground.

"We need to get him out of there." She said. I groaned and pulled her along with me. Practically dragging her with how swiftly I was moving, but it wasn't long until I lost my grip on her sweaty hand, I turned as fast as I could to catch her, but it was too late, her foot caught on a stone and down she went. Her wrap on her head came loose, letting the snakes writhe out, putting a target on her back. Those hiding in their shoddy homes that lined the street looked out as she cried in pain, whisperings of her cursed name began.

"Bell-" She was cut off as she thudded to the ground. She waved her arms around as she looked for me blindly, I rushed over to her and kneeled next to her, wanting to get her out of harm's way.

"Do you think you can walk?" I asked, wrapping an arm around her, supporting her as she stood, keeping weight off of her right ankle.

"Let me try." She said through gritted teeth. As she attempted a step, I knew almost instantly she wasn't going to be able to. One step, shudder, and she almost collapsed completely had I not been holding her.

"Go on, save the prince. I'm just going to slow us down." She bit out.

"You're crazy if you think I'm leaving you behind." I snapped, wrapping my arm under her arms, and then one under her legs and lifted her up.

"What are you doing?" She yelped.

"You still trust me?" I asked, gripping her close to me.

"Of course I do." She whispered.

"Good." And I began running to the docks, holding her tighter as we went along, her arms wrapped around my neck, her snakes writhed all around, trying to protect her by attempting to constrict me, their tongues tickled as they sniffed and hissed at me. One of her hands let go and swatted at them to tell them to stop their defence against me. Carrying her wasn't an issue, she was lighter than I had anticipated which was good, but it also concerned me because we hadn't been eating much. Shaking my head to stop thinking of that, I pushed on, carrying the both of us down to the thoroughly kempt docks in record time. I continued to hold her as I slowed down, not wanting to risk anyone seeing her and attacking. Now that she'd been spotted, there was no chance we would be granted safe passage, and no doubt, one of the Gods has heard. Cage Wallace as well.

"We're here, put me down." She said, I didn't listen though, not until we were safe inside the boat. The dock creaked and groaned as I walked over it, I wasn't taking any chances. The bronze boat caught my eye, it was different than the rest, there were no paddles to row with. It had a big, clunky, box at one end, and a steering rod no one used without a sail. Raven had said to pull the cord...and there it was, attached to the box. I set Clarke down in the boat, her arms slowly left my neck as she steadied herself on the seat, I climbed in after and grabbed the thin cable and pulled hard. Something mechanical grumbled deep in the box.

"What in Tartarus was that?" Clarke asked.

"Raven's invention." I mumbled. I pulled again, nothing. A crowd was forming, with torches, and swords screaming at us.

"Wanheda!" They cried.

"Bellamy, get it started." Clarke said wearily. I grit my teeth and pulled again. The box started to vibrate and push us forward, making a large raucous as we moved forward, picking up speed. The crowd rushed to the dock as we pulled away, I used the rod and began to steer us to the rock.

"Are we safe?"

"For now." I replied. We motored over to the rock in record time, I admired Raven's work, this was the best thing I had seen, a motor to power the boat instead of rowing. It was pure genius, so much so I smiled for a split second. As the rock drew nearer, I noticed a dark mass growing on the horizon, like the wave that hit me and my family. I willed the boat to move faster.  
"Please Murphy have mercy on me as I approach my end, please know that I tried to do well with what I have been given. Forgive my father. Forgive us all." The prince's prayers were loud as he prepared for death, the monster was approaching at a rapid rate.

"Clarke can you get out?" I shouted, the roar of the water was getting louder. She nodded and stood quickly, wincing only as she put weight on the hurt ankle. I climbed out and helped her out, ignoring her sounds of displeasure as I lifted her. She slipped on the wet rock and stood in front of the prince, hand on her blindfold, ready to remove it. I carefully headed to his chains and began to pick their locks with Maya's hairpin.

"Who are you?" He asked. The prince was blindfolded as well, his dark skin was slick with spray from the ocean, his ribs were visible from days of starvation, the poor kid deserved better than this. I got one chain undone, the monster grew near, and began to breach. As it rose I was amazed at its sheer volume. It was covered in thousands of barnacles and dead, white coral, the thing was a disgusting gray color, like sludge at the bottom of a toxic lake, and had long, tentacles that stretched for miles they each had a strange pincer at the end of them. The eyes were bright yellow, and as big as my father's ship was, the gray, cracking skin around them crusted as it lifted itself out of the water. It turned over to bare its sharp, brown stained teeth, all lined in perfect circles that seemed to last forever. It was ready to chew us up and spit what was left of us out. My heart raced as it drew closer, the stench of death wafted out of its horrendous mouth, bitter iron, and rot, bits of unknown flesh and wood were crammed in between its fangs.

"BELLAMY LOOK AWAY" she screamed, I turned my head as fast as as I possibly could. The monster roared loud enough to shake the earth. Clarke removed her blindfold and screamed bloody murder. It sliced through the air, inhuman and raw, as she dared it to look at her. It shrunk back and caught a glimpse...mistakes were made. It began to shriek again, making me cover my ears, the prince yelled in fear, we both looked away. Then it was silent, the crumbling sound of stone, and splashing. Signifying it was done with. I turned my head and gasped in amazement as Clarke stood there, radiating power, still screaming as the thing fell to pieces. The creature was defeated and thanks to her, and only her. I slowly recovered, and removed the prince's blindfold, then unlocked his last chain. He rubbed his wrists before glancing at Clarke, who was now on her knees shuddering, her snakes were still for once.

"Maiden...how did you do that?" Wells asked.  
"I'm cursed." She responded wearily. The king on the mainland cheered triumphantly as he realized the prince was safe. As did the town who were prepared to kill us just a moment ago.

"You girl! You shall marry my son!" He cried. My heart fell into my stomach just at the thought. It sunk further as I saw the look on the boys face. Hope. Infatuation. It was superficial. False. He didn't know this girl, or her struggles. He had hardly spoken to her...he's only heard her take a beast down with just her gaze. Her hands shakily reached for her blindfold but didn't cover her eyes right away, instead, Clarke then covered her eyes with her beaded veil, but kept the snakes free, she turned around to us, eyes shut. I fumbled around until I found a spare sheet of metal for us to look into, once it was secured she opened her eyes, they drifted to the boy next to me, and there was a twinkle in them as she looked at the once chained prince. The same one Octavia had when she talked about Echo's hunt. The offer stagnated in the air. A proposition of marriage and they hadn't even met the girl.

"Will you?" Wells asked hopefully.  
"You don't even know her name." I snapped. The boy looked confused, as if her name didn't actually matter to him. She was a beast slayer and a trophy to have instead of someone capable of feeling and emotion. She stood and dusted herself off.

"What is your name maiden?" He asked finally.  
"I'm nobody." She whispered.  
"Well, nobody, I'm in your debt. How can I ever repay you?" I struggled to not roll my eyes at his propriety with her. It's not as if she were royalty, you could see with how she dressed. Her chiton was ripped, it was dirtied from travel, her arms were sun kissed, freckles dotted her shoulders, the snakes themselves were proof enough she was no mere mortal. They were proof of her history. Her past which haunted her, and followed her. If she said her name she'd be feared by all in Rockburn.

"I'm just trying to break the curse." She said shrugging.

"A true love's kiss could break it." The boy said. She smiled and shook her head.

"Then I'll need to meet him." She responded. Pride bubbled in my gut as she turned on him, by interested in being a trophy wife. To stay cursed, silent, and blinded but being surrounded by luxury. It wasn't her.

"You turned the Kraken to stone." He said dumbfounded.

"Imagine what she could do to you." I said wryly. Clarke giggled and limped to me, putting her blindfold on again, touching my arm lightly.

"I'm sorry. I cannot accept the offer. I must go and break my own curse." She said. The prince looked heartbroken as I led her to the boat, holding my hand out I helped him in as well. He looked as if he'd tasted something sour and bitter, losing that as we neared shore once more. The people cheered as we docked, the prince climbed out before us, not glancing back at his heroes.

"Wells my son!" The King cried, he grasped his sons face and pulled him into a hug. I lifted Clarke out of the boat and glanced at the cheering people, they cheered for their prince's safety and not for the people who had actually rescued them. Raven stood on the roof of her temple and grinned at us, happy her ex husband was shown defiance. She nodded and pointed to the entrance where a horse and cart loaded with bags of food, blankets, and fresh clothes. I nodded at her and turned to Clarke, she smiled and took my hand. The crowd was so busy, they didn't notice us slip by.

"Ankle still hurt?" I asked. She bit her lower lip and nodded. Laughing, I scooped her up, into my arms, and carried her all the way to the cart.


	14. The Good Deed

The sounds of hooves trotting along a dirt road woke me up from a welcomed rest. My eyes were still covered with the ripped cloth of my old, tattered dress we had tossed away, somehow the red of the sun still beat through it, leaving strange visions dancing behind my closed eyes.

"Bellamy?" I croaked. We had been taking turns with guiding the horse, of course it proved difficult with me needing to stay blind, for protection and for the safety of Bellamy and others. We'd been traveling for a little over three days since we had saved Raven's temples and the city from the Kraken. Since the King offered me to his son without even bothering to ask me. Thank the Gods I had the right mind to refuse.

"Yes Clarke?" His voice called. I sat upright and stretched, the cart was more comfortable than the ground, but the wood still left aches and pains in our backs.

"Where are we?" I asked taking in the sounds. Birds chirping, a small stream, and the wind was howling like we were up high, it blew in gusts, making the cart creak and move.

"Somewhere I think you should be." He mumbled. Slowly I took off the cloth covering my eyes and was blinded by the light for a brief moment, when it cleared up, I could see we were on the edge of a mountain, climbing higher and higher, the valleys below were bright green, I could see the sea in the distance, a few scattered camps and villages, and birds flew and chattered overhead. No clouds in the sky, the rocks on the side and ground of the mountain were turning blue.

"Are we-?"

"Yes. We're going to your father." He said. I turned and looked at him, he'd changed his tunic since we'd left, like me, he wore white with green accents, and a bronze woven belt, the colors of Raven. I forgot how nice clean clothing was, after being stuck in my dirtied chiton for so long. I didn't know how to respond to him letting me know we'd be seeing my father, the man who had disgraced our name for doing the right thing. I just didn't know how. Everything came flooding in at once as I realized this would be the first time seeing him since I was a child, would he remember me? Or fear me?

"Don't worry." Bellamy called, he rested a hand on the horses back and gave her a pat.

"Easier said than done." I deadpanned. My thoughts raced as I tried to remember my dads face last I saw. He always had stubble on his cheeks and chin, his hair reminded me of dishwater, and his eyes were like mine, clear and blue. Always full of mischief and defiance. I didn't want to say it out loud just yet, but I was a little scared to see him. After all this time carrying the sky, what could it have done to him? Did they feed him? Give him water? What kind of torture have they inflicted upon my poor father? We got higher and higher as my mind raced with the pains they might've inflicted. Each worse than the other. Maybe...maybe it would've been better off had they just killed him then and there. But I could say the same thing for me.

"Do you think...things would've been better had I just been...smitten?" I asked Bellamy.

"Aren't you though?" He laughed. I realized what I had said a little too late. He thinks I mean the prince.

"Not like that you heathen." I laughed.

"Then like what Snake Princess?"

"Snake Princess? I don't think so." I giggled.

"Princess then. It suits you, you're regal enough, a hero, and that king wanted to court you to his son. Princess."

"I have a feeling I'm going to hate this new nickname." I smiled, it faltered when the thoughts raced through my head again. Maybe if Lexa just killed me instead of cursing me...had she just gotten rid of me maybe he would've been better off. The weight on my head grew heavier, heavier than it had in the time that these snakes had been there. The heaviness in my chest felt as if there were boulders crushing me, it hurt to breathe. Hurt to exist. Everything felt like that now.

"What if they'd killed me instead. This curse...it just...it's getting to me." I whispered. The cart slowed down, all the way to a halt, Bellamy looked as if he wanted to turn around but didn't.

"Had they killed you, I wouldn't be free. Maya would be a slave, and you...you wouldn't have saved the village and all of the people in it." He said.

"But Bellamy, what if I hadn't prayed to her. To save my mom." I countered. We both would have died, her of the illness and me of hunger or worse. I could have caught what she had and would've rot alongside her. He shoulders tensed as he considered it. The horse began to move again as he rested his hand on it's neck.

"My sister would be alive still...but I wouldn't have met you." He mumbled. The heaviness lifted for a moment before resuming it's squeezing. Every day seemed to take its toll now, with only brief interludes of peace and joy. What he said hit me, he cared. Or at least I think he did. We traveled in silence for what felt like forever until the wind finally stopped, the birds no longer sang, all you could hear were panicked and labored breaths of monumental size. Like something of great size was struggling to catch his breath like me, or was over exerting themself to the point of exhaustion. No doubt it was my father. My heart felt like it was constricting, caged tightly against my ribs. Like it wanted to shatter into millions of pieces and scatter over the mountain which we climbed. I panicked as I wrapped my eyes with a clean, silken fabric that was dyed a gold tint. My hair was wrapped in something to match, the snakes slithered and writhed against themselves and my scalp, tickling me almost but making it rather uncomfortable. I wanted to take it off as soon as I could as it felt suffocating. The cart slowed to a stop once more, blinded I asked Bellamy where we were.

"The Atlas Pass. Two columns are on either side of us, carved to depict his fall from grace...and one for your fathers fall. They're beautiful if you don't know what actually happened." He said softly. His sandals crunched against the ground as he tied the horse to something, I could hear him whispering to him. I inched towards the edge, sliding and shuffling carefully to not fall off and injure myself again. I heard him quicken his pace, then felt his hands on mine as he helped me down, they were warm and calloused. Much larger than mine by a lot. The contact sent shivers down my spine, when he'd carried me Rockburn it had released butterflies into my stomach. Being the way I am...I always fear I'll get someone sick or worse with the venom that's seeped out of my pores before. No one has touched me except for Raven when she brushed my arm or gave me a quick hug after visiting me in my cave. Only he had.

"Clarke…" He whispered, I could feel his breath hot on my cheek as he pulled me closer to him, his arm wrapped around my waist. I gasped at the intimacy, the boldness, the pain in my chest intensified causing me to suck in one more pained breath. I turned my head quickly towards the unknown landscape. His other hand tightened around mine, I tightened mine as well before letting go.

"Let's go." He said. I nodded and allowed him to lead the way, his arm still wrapped around me. After wrapping my own arm under his, I took slow, careful steps alongside him as we followed the sounds of labored breathing. They grew louder as we approached the spot where the sky met the earth, and was held up by a mortal man.

"Who is that?" I heard him call. Tears pricked my eyes as I heard his voice. It was harsh and scared, but it was him. That was my father.

"Dad?" I cried, I tightened my grip on him and forced myself to not run blindly. It would be a shame if I fell off the mountain, or into it.

"Clarke?" He choked out. He cried in pain and we felt the earth shift below us. I wanted to rip my blindfold off and look at him but I couldn't. Not yet.  
"Careful. He's only a few steps in front of us." Bellamy mumbled in my ear. I nodded and let him go, his arm drifted away from me slowly almost reluctant to let me go. My snakes spasmed under the wrap, causing more irritation. Tears burned as the streamed down my cheeks finally, soaking the blindfold. All the years without him, everything that had happened, killing all of those people, being cursed, watching my mom almost die, being separated from my mom, and worst of all losing my free will. It all flooded my brain and forced the tears out. I held my arms out to feel whatever was in front of me, only slightly stumbling on the rocks. I could almost sense Bellamy reaching for me to stop the fall. My hands felt something warm in front of me...then hair...it was my dad.

"Clarke. How did you...why are you here?" He croaked. I choked a sob out as I heard his voice.

"Dad...I'm so sorry." I cried.

"Why are your eyes covered sweetheart?"

"Because...I was...I was…"

"Oh my baby is blind." He cried, the earth shook beneath my feet again.

"Daddy no...I was cursed by Lexa. She...she turned me into a monster." My dad let out a small sigh, I could hear him sniffling. He was crying.

"My daughter...I am so sorry. Had I not been a fool...had I not tried to-"

"No! You saved Gaia from a lifetime of war and destruction she didn't want. You helped her. Saved her. You didn't deserve this...but you did something no other mortal could ever attempt." I smiled through the cramping in my chest, the irritation from the heat radiating off my head. It was as if they were trying to make me so uncomfortable I had no choice but to rip the wrapping off.

"Let me see." He said. I wanted to shake my head...but...my hands drifted up and undid the cloth that hid the snakes. He moaned as his eyes witnessed what the curse had done to me, his miserable breath hitched.  
"I've hurt people. Even ones I cared about, who trusted me. I'm a monster now." I whispered.

"No you're not." Bellamy called.

"Who are you?" My dad demanded.

"My name is Bellamy Blake. I've traveled long and far with your daughter and I have witnessed the atrocities she claims, but I've also seen her save lives. Rockburn was falling, the Kraken was going to attack and kill their prince and their people but she stopped it. She's saved me, and herself. She's not a monster." He snapped. His hand found mine again and squeezed it. I let him keep it there, bowing my head.

"I know what she is. And I know it is no monster." Dad whispered. He shifted slightly and made a sound of agony, the sky was laying heavier on his shoulders than the world did on mine. My heart constricted, as I could feel his pain. How his back almost broke, the tearing of his muscles daily, the heat boring down on him with no food or water to relinquish even the slightest misery.

"Does it hurt?" I asked him.

"Not more than having to leave you." He said. I smiled at him, knowing he had never left me by choice, he loved me and I loved him. I wanted to relieve him of this burden.

"I can make it go away."

"No good deed goes unpunished Clarke." He whimpered. I nodded.

"I love you dad."

"And I you Clarke." He said. I could hear the tears trapped in his throat, the ones he wished to relinquish. The years of agony and torture from the impossible job of holding the sky on his back.

"Let me fix this." I said. Bellamy squeezed my hand once to let me know it was ok. I let go of him and reached for the knot that held the silk cloth over my eyes. Bellamy turned away to protect himself and give me my privacy with my father. The light didn't blind me as much as it did before. I could see I was by my dads enlarged ankle, his feet were both calloused, and covered with dust and grime from the years he stood here...kneeled here...his chiton was ripped and browned. Parts of it bleached by sun and sweat, the wind had torn holes in it and the rain forced the grime to stream down causing ugly black streaks. I looked at the ground once more, noting the rust colored stains from his blood. I held my breath as I looked up quickly and saw his face. His blue eyes shined into mine, his blond hair was long, and the beard he sported matched. Both were matted terribly and my heart practically broke at the sight of his malnourishment. Skin and bone. Nothing for even the eagles and their subjects to nibble on. He smiled at me as he looked into my eyes, and slowly he started to turn. The grey spread from his irises, and outward on his face, it traveled and cracked down his neck, his arms, legs, everywhere. Perfectly carved, perfectly detailed. The love that shone in his eyes gazed at me as I freed him of this torture. This burden he's no longer have to carry. Once it was done I sunk to my knees, no more tears threatened to spill out, but the wind whistled around us and the birds began to sing. A thank you from beyond. A thank you from my father. Tremors struck me, as I sat there shaking, my head in my hands. I could feel something fracture in my chest causing excruciating pain that burned deeply within me. I cried out and sank to my side as it continued to radiate, clutching my chest as hard as I could. I shut my eyes tightly and called for Bellamy to help. In an instant he was there and helped me sit back up, he pulled me to his chest and rocked me in his arms. He hummed a sweet, low tune to me to calm me down. The pain began to subside, however, we stayed like that for a long time. The heaviness grew back, my dad was dead and I had killed him out of mercy. That would stay with me forever, but so would his words.

No good deed. This would haunt me forever, but oddly enough...I think I can live with this one. Knowing I saved him from an eternity from this hell they had forced him into. That soothed me like the lullaby Bellamy hummed for me. My eyes were closed but they grew heavy, I began to drift to sleep, he picked me up like he did in Rockburn and carried me back to the cart, laying me down gently and pulled a soft blanket over me despite the sun.

"Come on Perseus." He mumbled to the horse, and we began to travel once more, leaving my father etched forever in history, and the sky which he could now hold with no more anguish or suffering. The rocking of the cart soothed me, and I fell into yet another surprising, peaceful slumber.


	15. The Argument

Clarke seemed to sleep a lot more lately, probably to keep her mind from traveling to the dark places we've been. The dark things we've both had to experience. Sometimes I snuck glances of her while she rested, she seemed almost innocent if it weren't for the snakes on her head, her skin was dirtied from travel, we should have stopped to wash up before dressing in our new clothes from Raven. We dressed in a rush after the incident in Rockburn, trying to get the sticky saltiness of the sea, and the days and weeks of travel and death off of us as quickly as possible.  
Dirt smudged her skin, it was porcelain at the beginning of this journey, but now it was pink and brown from sun kissing her face. If she had real hair, I'm sure it would've been lightened by now. Studying the numerous snakes, they were lots of yellow ones, and some various browns ones with stripes, one in particular was black and shone with green and purple. It looked venomous and more dangerous than the rest. Like that one snake held the entirety of her curse. Maybe if she cut it off instead of what the Grey Ones told her...maybe she'd be free. Our horse kept trotting along the beaten path before us at a steady pace, his lovely brown coat had a bright glare from the sun that still beat down on us. We were just entering the forest when Clarke finally stirred again, yawning loudly as the cart hit a rock in the road, breaking the front and back right wheels. Everything in it, including Clarke, were tossed into the air and fell back with a loud thud. Our horse whinnied and kicked, obviously startled. Clarke rubbed her head, the snakes hissing angrily at her for putting them in harm's way.

"You ok?" I asked her softly. She gave me a grunt in return. Turning my back to her I inspected our wheels, determining that there was no way we could even remotely salvage them. They snapped in half, and splintered throughout the remains. I kicked it and cursed loudly, our only mode of transportation was trashed, no way could the horse carry all of the supplies we needed and the two of us, he was scared just at the sight of Clarke, even when she was covered head to toe. As if she were completely venomous.

"What's going on?" She mumbled sleepily. I ran my hands through my hair and stomped towards the front of the cart again.

"Wheel's are broken, we have to walk the rest of the way." I snapped.

"Oh...well then let's pack our things up. Will we bring Helios?" She asked. Helios?  
"The horse. I figured we couldn't keep calling him horse." She said simply.

"Of course we can bring him. I wasn't about to leave him behind." I said. I heard some shuffling, grabbing the long forgotten shield Lexa gave me, I used it to look at her without her coverings, still the same monster. But she wasn't. Something was different now, she wasn't just some monster of legend, or some creature to be feared. Clarke was different...she was a person but so much more. When she talked about medicine, I could hear both her excitement and resentment, when she talked about art, painting, and drawing, her passion radiated, or her mother and father, the loneliness haunted the both of us. It was like we were connected through our trials and pains. But there was something off about her right now. I could tell by the way her back was stiffened, her mood was soured as if she had eaten rotting berries.

"Stop spying on me." She snapped, I looked into her golden eyes which now glared at me.

"I wasn't spying. I was making sure you were packing up your things." I argued. She rolled her eyes and threw two bags over her shoulders, and dropped her veil to cover her eyes. I dropped my shield loudly and stomped to the back of the cart where there were still so many items to be packed. So much was going to waste and that made me angrier than it should have. Growing up I didn't have enough to eat all of the time until father worked for a week straight, and mother sewed five garments every day for two months. Being poor made us realize our wealth once we finally were comfortable enough to enjoy our products for ourselves. Panhandling on the streets, begging to work even at eight years old, by nine before Octavia was born, we had managed to save enough, when the king asked us to work for him finally, it was as if our prayers were answered. The struggles would have gone away had we just...gone. Like I wanted to. But father insisted. He said we had enough, and I believed him for a short time. Then Luna betrayed me. Betrayed us. My family. They died and I survived because of who I was, what I am. The son of some perverted God who cheated on his wife, lay with thousands of women including my mother. My mother who loved me but always hid the truth from me out of fear of what could happen. The Grey made it clear that being a half-blood...a demigod...was nothing to be proud of. No matter how many did good in this world, they'd be feared for their power. Hunted and killed for it. Or praised to the point that people worshipped them, mindlessly and hopelessly as if they could have all of their problems resolved by this one person. They become violent and abuse their power. And that's what I am. A creation of God and mortal...someone who didn't belong anywhere. Clarke didn't either. I began to throw things into whatever bag I could find, more food than necessary, another pair of sandals, and a spare set of clothes and cloth. I glanced at the weapons and decided to wear whatever I could, holstering a few knives to my belt, leg, I sheathed the sword Lexa had given me and draped it over my back. Throwing three bags over my shoulder, I lifted the shield and moved towards Helios, calming him down as I unhooked him from the damaged cart. Clarke shifted on her feet as if she were in pain which annoyed me because she hardly walked since Rockburn. Claimed she needed to rest her ankle which should be healed by now with how much wrapping she put on it.

"Ready?" I asked.

"Sure." She responded. I tied some of the bags to Helios and held his reigns, we began to walk on the trail again. My head swam with so many thoughts about the future. How could we take down the Mountain? We were just two cursed people with no power other than her ability to turn things to stone. She'd be killed within seconds of walking through the gates. The sheer thought of that sent my blood boiling, I wanted to slaughter them all and leave no stone unturned. Their slaves would be freed but Clarke would still be dead and cursed. I would be left alone again. And that left a hollow feeling in my gut. I just wanted to take her away from all of this...but how could we ever escape? Cage had eyes everywhere, no doubt he could see us here. He probably had some cleric or oracle searching for us constantly. Clarke dragged her feet behind me, not wanting to move forward.

"Pick up the pace Clarke. We need to make good time." I snapped. Her feet stomped for a while after that, I clearly made her upset somehow. By wanting her to move faster so we could set a decent pace and not be so exposed? All because the stupid wheels broke. So much for the gift Raven, what good is the Goddess of the Forge is she can't make a decent wheel? It felt like hours, we were deeper into the forest, the waves from the bottoms of the cliffs roared in the distance soothing me.

"I think we ought to stop for now." She said suddenly. I kept walking ignoring her comment, maybe she'd get it through her head that we couldn't stop. We had to keep moving, even if it wasn't towards anything.

"Bellamy I want to stop." She called. I ignored her again and kept going. Keep. Moving. Don't stop.

"Bellamy!" She yelled. Why is she yelling? I stopped in my tracks and willed myself not to turn around and yell right back at her.

"What now Clarke?" I called. Her small footsteps caught up to me in record time, she rested her hand on my shoulder, making me tense up. We had to make it to the Mountain. We just had to why couldn't she understand that?  
"You aren't acting like yourself. You're irritated, angry, it's not like you." She mumbled. I put my hand on hers and squeezed before taking it off.

"I'm fine." I sighed.

"That's not what I-"

"Look, we've wasted too much time already with the cart breaking, and Helios carrying everything is slowing us further. I can tell you with the utmost certainty that I am behind the deadline and Cage is going to send his goons after us soon. So sorry, but we can't afford to stop anymore."

"That's not...I meant…" She stuttered. I dropped my shoulders and adjusted the items I was carrying and began my fast pace once again. Something hard and small hit me in the back of my neck, it stung. When I looked down, there was a small rock. She threw a rock at me.

"What the hell?" I yelled.

"You have to talk to me. Otherwise how are we going to-"

"What? Work together?"

"I just...I'm worried about you."

"Well don't bother." I snapped. I began again this time I practically dragged Helios behind me, he tugged on the reigns but I kept going. Nothing was stopping me, I had to keep her and I safe from whatever horror Cage had planned for us. I shouldn't have stopped at the mountain but she needed to. I cared more about her than I did about myself, but it was starting to take its toll. I was forgetting the mission that Jasper had given me, I was forgetting Maya who had given her life to this. To her. I just...I have to see this through to the end.

"Are you thinking about them?" She asked. The question cut through me like a sword. It made my skin go cold, my hair stood on end, it felt like she had punched a hole through my chest.

"I wasn't for once. But now I am thank you." I snarled. I could feel her recoil. I heard her clear her throat, and sniff as if she were crying.

"I know you want to help me, to help everyone and avenge them but Bellamy...you can't do this to yourself anymore."

"Do what anymore? I just said I wasn't thinking about them."

"But you were. If not your family, then Maya, or Gina, or anyone else who's had to pay an unfair price on this journey."  
"Unfair price? Unfair price!? Clarke an unfair price is someone getting injured or their feelings hurt. People are dead! The people who helped us, people who trusted me!" She gasped sharply. Like I slapped her. I refused to look in the shield. Refused to see what pain I had just inflicted on her. The memories I dug up...ones we had both desperately wanted to forget. But I couldn't, I don't think I ever will forget.

"I just...I-"

"Enough. We have to keep moving. We have to put an end to this."

"No." She said stiffly. What the hell does she mean no? I raised the shield to glance at her, seeing her finally. Tear stained, arms crossed, and the physical embodiment of pure anger.

"You've lost people and you're frustrated. I get it. But you are not going to take it out or blame it on me." She said, her voice getting more bitter with each word. Her fangs were starting to protrude, her snakes were starting to stir.

"Clarke this is all about you. Everything that has happened is because of you and I not only fooled myself into caring about you, I wanted to save you." I snapped.

"We will never be safe. Don't you understand that?" She yelled. Scales began to form on her shoulders and arms, it was at this point I knew to stop goading her, stop taking out all of my fear on her. If only she could understand.

"We could have been. Had you not slept with Finn and pissed off Lexa." Her eyes burned with hatred as she began to shift into her monster form, she dripped with clear liquid, venom, her nails grew longer and sharper, her scales were more prominent, and her snakes were running rampant all over her head. She looked about ready to kill me, she took a step forward, the hissing pierced my ears, Helios was beginning to tug and shake. She was going to kill me, I stared at the golden reflection seeing the creature she'd become.

"What now Wanheda? Am I special enough to be poisoned by you? Or will I be turned to stone just like the others?" I snarled, the rancor in my voice shocked even me. It wasn't like me to be so spiteful like I was being. Hurt registered on her face, it sent chills down my spine and slammed me in the chest with what I had done, and then suddenly she wasn't the monster. She was back to normal, granted the snakes were still present, but her eyes were filled with tears as her face broke. She choked back ugly, heaving sobs that wracked her body. Putting a hand over her mouth she broke out into a sprint, running right past me with her eyes closed into the darkening forest. Her cries echoed loudly, haunting me as I realized what I had done. What I had said. I made her feel like the monster she was. I had blamed everything on her. My stomach cramped and I dropped to my knees, dry heaving as the guilt and shame washed over me. Letting out a loud roar as I felt all of the pain of the last few weeks, losing my family, blaming Clarke, Gina dying, blaming Clarke, Maya dying, blaming Clarke. She had just killed her own father out of mercy, she had weeped over Maya, saved a prince she didn't even know because of her loyalty to Raven and her own bravery and selflessness. Clarke wasn't the monster. I was. And I shamed her for what she was, even though she had never done that to me. Ever. The only girl who saw me for what I am and not as I was. The penniless, fisherman's son, a bastard, a slave, the worthless husk of a human I had thought I was. Clarke never saw any of that. She just saw me as a man. And I let her believe I had hated her. That I truly thought she would have killed me. I used her curse against her, to insult her, to harm her. I felt like I had lost the only light in my life again. And I forced her to run off.


	16. The Tears Flow Freely

Those words rattled my brain, they floated and coursed through my veins. Bellamy...the one person who seemingly cared, the only person I had left in this world who wasn't afraid of me, who never saw my curse, now saw me only as this monster. He had called me Wanheda, my cursed name. The name I'd refused to respond to no matter what, the one the Mountain deemed me. And maybe he was right. Maybe this was all I was doomed to be. My lungs constricted as I continued running blindly into the trees, the sun was still out but the light was fading fast, I couldn't breathe. Every breath felt like glass, every pant was a new knife being shoved into my back by his words. How could he ever think I would hurt him? Kill him? We were all each other had left. A tree found its way into my path and I had to stop myself before completely smashing into it. Though once I was there, I gripped it tightly and let out an inhuman shriek as all of his words came rushing back into my head.

 _This is all because of you_

 _Had you not slept with Finn._

 _Pissed off Lexa._

People died when I was near them. Either their soul did or their body did but regardless, people died when I was around. This was truly all my fault and I had no way of dealing with this revelation. But what about him? Did he take no responsibility for his actions? How come it was only me? Tears continued to flow down my cheeks, soaking them as I sobbed loudly, clutching tightly to my tree. At first I thought my world had ended when Lexa cursed me to be this thing, but I was wrong. Funny...it seems worlds can end more than once. The tears began to slow down finally, I felt so drowsy from crying so much. A branch snapped behind me, startling me from my stupor. I whipped my head around to see whatever was behind me, all I saw were shadows, and trunks from the tall pines. The wind blew slightly, kissing my cheeks, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Maybe this was just us fighting through our fear, I had meant what I said, that he can't keep torturing himself about the past. He can't change what happened in his past and he needs to let it go, maybe not now but eventually. Otherwise it would eat him from the inside out. And maybe...maybe I needed to follow my own good advice. When I opened my eyes again, I thought I saw a shadow cross from one tree to the bush, and then another. Probably the nymphs enjoying my sorrow, twisted little girls. I began to walk slowly through the brush and roots that littered the ground, I was far from the trail, and it was dangerous to be on my own powers or not. I was being hunted by everyone who had ears and eyes to see, and Bellamy was the only person I felt safe with. My sandals crushed pine needles and twigs that fell from the canopy above as I moved towards where I thought the trail was. Though by now he had probably left and I was hopelessly lost. I couldn't remember which way I had come from, I knew I had ran past him after our argument, but there were so many things to avoid on the way here. Boulders, trees, animals trying to scurry away from me. I had rounded corners, cut through bushes, and changed directions so many times it wasn't wise.

"Bellamy?" I called. Another twig snapped in the distance. It put me on edge, I reached for the knife Bellamy gave me, it was holstered at my side. The bushes rustled in front of me loudly. Too loudly to be an animal of any size, it was a person looking at me.

"Who's there?" I demanded. I stopped walking and stood my ground, holding the knife up and close to me, I scanned my surroundings. In case my sight could turn them before they could strike. The forest continued its ambiance, birds cooing, wind rustling the trees, I could vaguely hear waves crashing in the distance. Waves! I was getting near the cliffs, which meant the trail couldn't be too far away. I continued my hike, my chiton kept snagging on branches, I tried to ignore it because I needed to stay on guard. I sped up, running only a little bit, navigating around any obstacles in my way. The sounds behind me continued to grow in numbers and size, something or someone was there and in great numbers. In the distance I could see Bellamy on the ground, quiet. My stomach tied itself into knots, and the painful heaviness in my chest grew as he wasn't moving at all. I began to run towards him as fast as I could, dropping my knife, not caring about whatever was behind me, I had to get to him. If he was hurt, I don't know how I could possibly forgive myself. He stirred slightly from the crumpled position he was in, I stopped and breathed a sigh of relief. I began to run towards him again.

"Bellamy!" I cried. But then my world turned upside down and my ankle was snagged in a tight knot. As I slid harshly on the ground from the trap, I hit my head on the ground, hard. And the world went black.


End file.
